We introduced ‘best practice’ thinking in HRM (see Chapter 1), a commonly held point of view which holds that there is a bundle of HR practices that, when implemented, together provide a recipe for superior business performance. Importantly, supporters of this view argue that best practice HRM applies across all types of organisations, operating in all manner of industries.

What implications does the research on best practice HRM have for the debate about international convergence and divergence in approaches to HRM? What might it suggest will happen in the future?