Measurement Error in Research on Human Resources and Firm Performance: Additional Data and Suggestions for Future Research

Abstract

Gerhart and colleagues and Huselid and Becker recently debated the presence and implications of measurement error in measures of human resource practices. This paper presents data from three more studies, one of large organizations from different industries at the corporate level, one from commercial banks, and the other of autonomous business units at the level of the job. Results of all three studies provide additional evidence that single respondent measures of HR practices contain large amounts of measurement error. Implications for future research are discussed.