emerging trends in human resource management theory and research
TRANSCRIPT
Human Resource Management Review 19 (2009) 51–52
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Human Resource Management Review
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Special Issue
Emerging trends in human resource management theory and research
From time to timewe believe that researchers need to pause and reflect on the status of theory and research in human resourcemanagement (HRM). The reason is that this is the only way we can advance our field and ensure that we continue to makeimportant contributions to theory, research, and practice. In pursuit of this reflection, we conducted a series of HRM townmeetingsover the last five years at professional conferences including the Academy of Management and Society for Industrial andOrganizational Psychology. The papers in this special issue are products of these discussions, representing some of the importanttrends in our field. It merits noting that this is the second special issue in Human Resource Management Review emanating fromthese town meetings. The first special issue was published in September 2008, and was titled “Critical Issues in Human ResourceManagement Theory and Research.”
There are a total of eight papers in this issue that focus on a variety of emerging trends in our field. The first paper, by JuanSanchez and Edward Levine, deals with the difference between competency modeling and traditional job analysis. These authorscompare traditional job analysis and competency modeling in terms of six key dimensions: purpose (describe versus influencebehavior), view of job (job versus role), focus (job versus organization), time orientation (past versus future), performance level(typical verusmaximum), andmeasurement (latent trait verus clinical judgment).We believe that the ideas in this paper representan emerging trend because the authors argue that competency modeling can fill an important void in traditional job analysis, thussuggesting a combination of these two approaches. The second paper is by Mark Lengnick-Hall, Cynthia Lengnick-Hall, LeticiaAndrade, and Brian Drake. These authors focused on the evolution of the field of strategic human resource management (SHRM).They trace chronologically how the field has evolved over the past 30 years, focusing on seven themes: (1) explaining contingencyperspectives and fit, (2) shifting from a focus on managing people to creating strategic contributions, (3) elaborating HR systemcomponents and structure, (4) expanding the scope of SHRM, (5) achieving HR implementation and execution, (6) measuringoutcomes of SHRM, and (7) evaluatingmethodological issues.Within each theme, they articulate some of the key research findingsthat have played an important role in the evolution of the field. We believe this paper represents an emerging trend because theauthors highlight areas of research that have received little attention, and those that will help move the field of SHRM forward.
The next paper in this special issue concentrates on emerging issues in employee benefits, and is co-authored by JamesDulebohn, Janice Molloy, Shaun Pichler, and Brian Murray. Although employee benefits is certainly not a new issue in our field, theauthors note that there has been relatively little research on this critical topic in recent years. This is surprising because employee-sponsored benefits often account for one-third of an organization's total labor costs, making it a primary concern to executives andemployees alike. Thus, we believe that employee benefits should be an emerging area in our field because there is a need forresearch that can better guide practice. The fourth paper, by Eugene Stone-Romero, Kaye Alvarez, and Lori Foster Thompson,examines the construct validity of conceptual and operational definitions of task and contextual performance. In recent years,there has been considerable interest in contextual performance and the related constructs of organizational citizenship behaviors,prosocial behaviors, and extra-role behaviors. Although the literature makes a distinction between task performance andcontextual performance, the authors suggest that those behaviors generally viewed as representative of contextual performanceare also frequently regarded as exemplars of task performance. We believe that this paper reflects an emerging interest areabecause the authors provide a unique perspective on contextual performance-related research. They also offer key insights aboutthe implications of confounding definitions of task and contextual performance in our research.
The fifth paper, by Lynn Shore, Beth G. Chung-Herrera, Michelle A. Dean, Karen Holcombe Ehrhart, Don I. Jung, Amy E. Randel,and Gangaram Singh, focuses on the all important issue of diversity in organizations. The authors examine research on sixdimensions of diversity – age, disability, gender, race, sexual orientation, and national origin – highlighting common themes acrossthose dimensions. It is clear that diversity will be a pivotal issue in this century, and we believe that this paper is extremelyimportant because the authors present an intriguing, new approach to this topic: an integrative model of diversity that providesboth theoretical and practical guidance. The next paper, by Dianna Stone and Kimberly Lukaszewski, presents an expanded modelof electronic human resourcemanagement systems (eHR). These authors argue that eHR systems are an emerging trend in the fieldof HRM, and are propelling it in some entirely new directions. However, they also contend that there are problems inherent in the
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52 Special Issue
design and implementation of these systems that limit their effectiveness. This paper is noteworthy, as evidenced by the modifiedmodel of eHR systems that considers the degree to which communication processes affect the acceptance and effectiveness ofthese systems. They also present directions for future research on this important topic.
The seventh paper, by Diana Deadrick and Pamela Gibson, presents an interesting analysis of the changes in HRM articlespublished in the last 30 years. These authors seek to answer the question “What HRM issues have dominated our field in the pastand present?” In addition, they address the extent to which the HRM research-practice gap has narrowed or widened over time.Their results show that HRM development and staffing have been the dominant themes in our research throughout the last threedecades, with no appreciable research-practice gap on these topics. However, the authors identify several research trends thatwarrant further examination, such as reasons behind the increasing research-practice gap regarding Compensation-related topics,and the decreasing gap regarding Employee/Labor Relations-related topics. The final paper in the issue, by Mark Suazo, PatriciaMartinez and Rudy Sandoval, concentrates on the differences between psychological and legal employment contracts. Althoughthere has been considerable research on psychological contracts in recent years, there is some confusion in the literature about thedifferences between these two types of contracts. The authors address this confusion by presenting a framework for understandingthe differences and considering the means by which human resource practices (e.g., recruitment, performance management,employee handbooks) influence employees' perceptions of psychological and legal contracts. Given the growing numbers of layoffsin the United States, this paper focuses on one of the most salient trends for this decade, providing a unique perspective onemployment contract issues in a changing environment.
In summary, we believe that this special issue offers several intriguing views on emerging research trends for human resourcemanagement. We hope that it stimulates additional research on these issues. We want to express our sincere appreciation toRodger Griffeth for giving us the opportunity to edit this special issue. Without his support and encouragement, this issue ofHuman Resource Management Review would not have been possible. In addition, we want to express our thanks to the membersof the HRMR editorial board and others who served as ad hoc reviewers for this special issue (Derek Avery, James Breaugh, HalGueutal, Kimberly Lukaszewki, Janet Marler, Patrick McKay, and Eugene Stone-Romero). We hope you will enjoy reading thesepapers as much as we did.
Diana L. DeadrickDepartment of Management, College of Business and Public Administration,
Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA 23529-0223, United StatesCorresponding author. Tel.: +1 757 683 4224.
E-mail address: [email protected], [email protected].
Dianna L. StoneDepartment of Management, College of Business, University of Texas at San Antonio,
One UTSA Circle, San Antonio, TX 78249, United StatesTel.: +1 210 497 4965.
E-mail address: [email protected], [email protected].