Universalistic theory argues that certain human resource practices have a direct and positive impact on organisational performance, irrespective of the context in question. For HRM researchers and practitioners, this logic has intuitive appeal and helps demonstrate the strategic significance of HRM. Universalistic theory has underpinned significant waves of empirical research which has attempted to statistically demonstrate the direct relationship of HRM to financial performance, productivity and increasingly also employee outcomes. Initially, the universalistic focus was on single HR practices such as pay and staffing, but research has evolved to examine how mutually reinforcing bundles of HRM practices can have a synergistic impact in enhancing performance outcomes. Typical HR practices advocated as part of such a bundle include training and development, participation/ autonomy, incentive compensation, performance evaluation, selection, and job design (Boon, Den Hartog & Lepak, 2019). An exemplar is research by Mark Huselid (1995, p. 644), which concluded that ‘the use of high-performance work practices and good internal fit should lead to positive outcomes for all types of firms’. The various labels attached to HRM are indicative of the universal emphasis; for example, best practice HRM, high-performance work practices/systems (HPWS) and high commitment management.