This conceptual article develops an integrative framework explaining how Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) can improve organizational performance through employee engagement and organizational commitment. In response to the need for a theoretically grounded explanation of the HRM-performance 'black box', the article synthesizes recent literature on strategic fit, job resources, social exchange, employee engagement, organizational commitment, and organizational performance. The synthesis positions employee engagement as a motivational mechanism that converts HR practices into work energy, dedication, and discretionary effort, while organizational commitment is positioned as a relational mechanism that converts perceived organizational investment into attachment, loyalty, and sustained contribution. The proposed model includes direct pathways from SHRM to performance, engagement, and commitment; pathways from engagement to commitment and performance; and a serial mechanism of SHRM -> engagement -> commitment -> organizational performance. The article contributes by integrating motivational and relational mechanisms in one conceptual architecture and by translating the model into managerial implications for HR architecture, line-manager implementation, employee experience, and performance-pathway evaluation. The framework is intended for subsequent empirical testing using field data, preferably with longitudinal or multi-wave and multi-source designs.
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Dekasari et al. (2026) studied this question.
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