An interdisciplinary review of AI and HRM: Challenges and future directions

Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to change the future of human resource management (HRM). Scholars from different disciplines have contributed to the field of AI in HRM but with rather insufficient cross-fertilization, thus leading to a fragmented body of knowledge. In response, we conducted a systematic, interdisciplinary review of 184 articles to provide a comprehensive overview. We grouped prior research into four categories based on discipline: management and economics, computer science, engineering and operations, and others. The findings reveal that studies in different disciplines had different research foci and utilized different methods. While studies in the technical disciplines tended to focus on the development of AI for specific HRM functions, studies from the other disciplines tended to focus on the consequences of AI on HRM, jobs, and labor markets. Most studies in all categories were relatively weak in theoretical development. We therefore offer recommendations for interdisciplinary collaborations, propose a unified definition of AI, and provide implications for research and practice.     

A retrospective and prospective analysis of HRM research in Chinese firms: Implications and directions for future study

Based on an extensive review and analysis of 182 articles published in the field of human resource management that focus on China since its economic reform, this article discusses the major reasons for the growth in this area of research. We identify five major categories spanning research and practice, ownership type, and research method. Further, we examine issues and deficiencies in the research literature. Based on our analysis of each research category, we present a substantial series of research questions and implications for future research on HRM in China. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Trust and HRM in the new millennium

This paper introduces the topic of trust in the workplace. The rationale for the growth of interest in trust is explored, as are the implications for HRM policy makers and researchers. Here, we also outline the main thrust of the eight papers incorporated in this special edition. First, we explore the topic of HRM and trust, before moving to issues relating to trust and workplace change. Next we discuss team dynamics, manager–employee relationships and trust and, finally, the characteristics associated with trust and situational, dispositional and affectual factors.     

Current trends and future directions for the Canadian healthcare system

This paper outlines the structure of healthcare in Canada and describes trends in health expenditures. Particular attention is paid to trends in Canada's most populous province, Ontario. Three temporal episodes of health expenditure growth in Ontario are identified: 1980–91, a period of rapid growth; 1991–98, a period of restraint; and 1998-present, a period of expenditure resurgence. Health policy initiatives designed to enhance the efficient, effective and equitable access to healthcare services are briefly reviewed.     

Recurrent Neural Networks for Time Series Forecasting: Current status and future directions

Recurrent Neural Networks (RNNs) have become competitive forecasting methods, as most notably shown in the winning method of the recent M4 competition. However, established statistical models such as exponential smoothing (ETS) and the autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) gain their popularity not only from their high accuracy, but also because they are suitable for non-expert users in that they are robust, efficient, and automatic. In these areas, RNNs have still a long way to go. We present an extensive empirical study and an open-source software framework of existing RNN architectures for forecasting, and we develop guidelines and best practices for their use. For example, we conclude that RNNs are capable of modelling seasonality directly if the series in the dataset possess homogeneous seasonal patterns; otherwise, we recommend a deseasonalisation step. Comparisons against ETS and ARIMA demonstrate that (semi-) automatic RNN models are not silver bullets, but they are nevertheless competitive alternatives in many situations.     

Current issues and future directions in simulation-based training in North America

A number of emerging challenges including globalization, economic pressures and the changing nature of work has combined to create a business environment that demands innovative, flexible training solutions. Simulations are a promising tool for creating more realistic, experiential learning environments to meet these challenges. Unfortunately, the current literature on simulation-based training paints a mixed picture as to the effectiveness of simulations as training tools, with most of the previous research focusing on the specific technologies used in simulation design and little theory-based research focusing on the instructional capabilities or learning processes underlying these technologies. This article examines the promise and perils of simulation-based training, reviews research that has examined the effectiveness of simulations as training tools, identifies pressing research needs, and presents an agenda for future theory-driven research aimed at addressing those needs.     

Menopause and the workplace: New directions in HRM research and HR practice

This paper offers two key arguments. The first is that HRM scholars and HR practitioners need to pay a good deal more attention to the bi‐directional relationship between menopause and the workplace—how menopausal symptoms can affect women's experience of work and how work can exacerbate a woman's symptoms. We outline the social responsibility, demographic, legal and business cases which explain the urgency of more research and more concerted practice in this area. Our second argument concerns the importance of future research and practice adopting an intersectional political economy approach, in order to better understand the considerable differences between how women going through menopause transition experience work. Here, we offer arguments ranging from the macro‐ through the meso‐ down to the micro‐level of these differences, in so doing setting an agenda for the work to come on this very significant issue.     

Editorial introduction: HRM and performance: confronting theory and reality

This editorial introduction has twin purposes. The first is to make a wide audience aware of the new Dutch HRM Network. The second is to introduce a set of papers which make a contribution to the connections between HR policies/strategies and organizational performance. These purposes are linked by the fact that the papers come from the inaugural conference of the Network that was held in the Rotterdam School of Economics at Erasmus University at the end of 1999.     

HRM and Indian epistemologies: A review and avenues for future research

India is emerging as a super power, slated to be among the world's five largest economies and viewed by international investors, business conglomerates and tertiary education providers as a land of opportunity. A database search since the opening up of the Indian economy in 1991 reveals a slowly increasing number of scholarly articles on HRM, with a steep rise from the year 2000 onwards. While it is acknowledged that the field of HRM is a broad area, there is currently a dearth of research in specific HRM practices and policies in India to warrant a focus on only one area. Hence the primary objective of this article is to present a scholarly survey of important research literatures in the area of HRM in India, and to offer avenues for future research. To this end this article garners, integrates and discusses research on HRM in India with a focus primarily on the past fifteen years. It is within this complexity that research on India and its workforce is presented by illuminating HRM as embedded in the Indian environment with its intricate epistemologies and transitions in a period of dynamic change.     

Entrepreneurial ecosystem research: present debates and future directions

International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal - The purpose of this article is to review the emerging research on entrepreneurial ecosystem and to guide future research into this promising...     

Temporary teams: current research focus and future directions

Quality & Quantity - Temporary teams quickly adapt to changes in the external environment with members diversity, task importance, and limited time, have attracted more and more attention from...     

Trust as moderator in the relationship between HRM practices and employee attitudes

The study contributes to the debate in the HRM literature by examining the role of trust in management in moderating the effect of HRM practices on employee attitudes. The novelty of the study lies in our interest in assessing this relationship not only on a system of HR practices, but also considering whether the influence varies according to specific ‘bundles’ of practices. Adopting a Structural Equation Modelling approach, we first test the moderation using an HRM index of seven practices on a sample of 9,000 employees from 46 Italian organisations. Then, following the AMO approach, we assess the relationship on three ‘bundles’ of practices, one oriented to increasing ability, another motivation and the third opportunity to participate. Results confirm the moderation with the overall HRM index. Interestingly, the effect varies depending on the HR bundles, being significant only with the motivation practices and not relevant in the other two bundles.     

Knowledge sharing: A review and directions for future research

The success of knowledge management initiatives depends on knowledge sharing. This paper reviews qualitative and quantitative studies of individual-level knowledge sharing. Based on the literature review we developed a framework for understanding knowledge sharing research. The framework identifies five areas of emphasis of knowledge sharing research: organizational context, interpersonal and team characteristics, cultural characteristics, individual characteristics, and motivational factors. For each emphasis area the paper discusses the theoretical frameworks used and summarizes the empirical research results. The paper concludes with a discussion of emerging issues, new research directions, and practical implications of knowledge sharing research.     

The norm of norms in HRM research: A review and suggestions for future studies

This article presents a systematic literature review of how norms are used in a sample of 436 articles in the human resource management (HRM) field. In exploring how norms are theorized, applied, and operationalized, the article identifies four main thematic fields in which norms are commonly used: culture, diversity, labor market, and work–life. The article makes three main contributions to the existing literature. First, it reveals a pervasive inconsistency in the use of norms across HRM research such that any assumption of a “norm of norms”—that is, consensus on the meaning of norms in HRM—is erroneous and in need of critical reflection. Second, the review offers a typology that outlines four similarities and differences in how HRM research employs norms. Finally, the authors propose a norm-critical research agenda as a relevant basis for future critical and reflexive enquiry into norms in both HRM theory and practice.     

Employee perceptions of HR practices: A critical review and future directions

Abstract

Scholars are directing more attention to employee perceptions of human resources (HR) practices and have explored issues such as whether and how employees’ idiosyncratic or collective perceptions of HR practices shape employee outcomes. To further this area of research, we seek to determine what authors mean when they refer to “employee perceptions of HR practices”. We review 105 articles from leading human resource management journals and find that employee perceptions of HR practices is not a monolithic concept. Rather, following previous scholars, we identify three distinct components of employee perceptions of HR practices: the ‘what’, ‘how’, and ‘why’. We critically summarize extant literature on these three components of employee HR perception and propose future research directions, including enriching the theoretical foundations of HR communication, embracing cross-national contexts, and enhancing practical relevance.     

Mapping Human Resource Management: Reviewing the field and charting future directions

Using recent advances in science mapping, this article systematically reviews the Human Resource Management (HRM) field. We analyze 12,157 HRM research articles published over 23 years to reveal the topic content and intellectual structure of HRM scholarship. A downloadable, searchable HRM topic map is provided (https://bit.ly/HR_Map) that reveals: a) 1702 HRM article topics, b) the number of articles on each topic, c) topic relations, trends, and impact, and d) five major HRM topic clusters. We discuss the overall intellectual structure of HRM scholarship and review the five topic clusters. Next, the topic content of HRM scholarship is compared to that of 6114 articles from the practitioner-oriented outlet HR Magazine. We identify 100 topics emphasized to a much greater degree in the practitioner-oriented literature. Seven key themes for future research that could help align HRM scholarship with the interests of HR practitioners are identified and discussed.     

HRM and Performance: A Plea for Reflexivity in HRM Studies

abstract    In this Counterpoint, we build on Paauwe's suggestions to take the field of HRM and Performance further. Rather than aiming for a synthesis or proposing a radical alternative, we argue that R(econstructive)-reflexivity is needed for theorizing HRM. In particular, we bring in insights from critical studies on the notion of HRM, on the notion of performance, and on the theoretical relationship between them as a way to open up new research avenues and lines of interpretation. For each of these three aspects, we indicate how studying the employment relationship can be reframed. In particular, we emphasize practice-oriented research as one possible research path for the field of HRM as it allows for an examination of HRM as a set of practices, embedded in a global economical, political and socio-cultural context. We end our counterpoint by reflecting on reflexivity, proposing three practices that can guide HRM scholars in becoming reflexive in the ways they study HRM.