Population ecology is utilized to understand the role of human resource management (HRM) in enhancing the performance of initial public offering (IPO) companies. This is done by examining the determinants of structural inertia and developing hypotheses on the relationship between HRM and organizational performance. The results indicate that two human resource variables (human resource value and organization-based rewards) predict initial investor reaction and long-term survival. The rewards variable negatively affects initial performance while positively impacting survival.