Navigating the shifting landscapes of HRM

The effects of artificial intelligence on human resource activities and the roles of the human resource triad: opportunities and challenges

Introduction

This study analyzes the existing academic literature to identify the effects of artificial intelligence (AI) on human resource (HR) activities, highlighting both opportunities and associated challenges, and on the roles of employees, line managers, and HR professionals, collectively referred to as the HR triad.

Methods

We employed the scoping review method to capture and synthesize relevant academic literature in the AI-human resource management (HRM) field, examining 27 years of research (43 peer-reviewed articles are included).

Results

Based on the results, we propose an integrative framework that outlines the five primary effects of AI on HR activities: task automation, optimized HR data use, augmentation of human capabilities, work context redesign, and transformation of the social and relational aspects of work. We also detail the opportunities and challenges associated with each of these effects and the changes in the roles of the HR triad.

Discussion

This research contributes to the ongoing debate on AI-augmented HRM by discussing the theoretical contributions and managerial implications of our findings, along with avenues for future research. By considering the most recent studies on the topic, this scoping review sheds light on the effects of AI on the roles of the HR triad, enabling these key stakeholders to better prepare for this technological change. The findings can inform future academic research, organizations using or considering the application of AI in HRM, and policymakers. This is particularly timely, given the growing adoption of AI in HRM activities.

Human Resources Information System (HRIS) to Enhance Civil Servants’ Innovation Outcomes: Compulsory or Complimentary?

The Internet of things (IoT) has oriented organisations digitally in administrating human resources. In line with this trend, Indonesian public sectors are adopting Human Resources Information Systems (HRIS) to boost employee innovation outcomes. However, coercive pressure to implement HRIS has only resulted in fiascos for the technology, which cannot be fully considered to eliminate long, ineffective, and inefficient practices. This study examines the instrumental adoption factors to adopt HRIS in boosting employee innovation outcomes from technological, organisational, people, and social outlooks. The empirical data consisting of 500 valid datasets were obtained from public servants in Indonesia via web-based questionnaires. structural equation modelling (SEM), which was used to examine the relationship among constructs. Technology fit, organisational resources, knowledge, and social influences have positive impacts on technology adoption. However, when treated as a mediation, the negative path from HRIS to innovation outcomes implied that e-HRM reflected in HRIS implementation would not make employees innovative. The scrutinized under ability, motivation, and opportunity (AMO) framework and empirical insights clearly portray that Indonesian’s ability to fit into this framework is problematical, making technological innovation in the Indonesian public sector only complimentary, not compulsory. This study suggests that HRM reform in public organisations is a top priority if the country wishes to achieve world-class bureaucracy by 2025.

Global work in a rapidly changing world: Implications for MNEs and individuals

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a great “reset” and has challenged many assumptions about work and life in general. Our focus in this paper is on the future of global work in the context of multinational enterprises (MNEs). We take a phenomenon-based approach to describe the important trends and challenges affecting the where, who, how and why of global work. As we highlight implications for organizations and individuals, we offer a set of research questions to guide future research and inform IHRM practitioners.

Putting implementation into context: Exploring the influence of physical, social, and task contexts on the implementation of health promotion programs

The aim of this paper is to empirically examine the influence of organizational context on the implementation effectiveness of human resource management (HRM) practices with the aim of maintaining the health and well-being of employees, known as health promotion programs (HPPs). HPPs are a strategic function in HRM and play a crucial role in creating and maintaining human capital. Effective implementation is typically viewed as a critical prerequisite for the success of HPPs. By exploring the influence of organizational context on the implementation of HPPs, this paper offers a fresh approach to understanding HRM implementation in a relatively neglected area of research. To uncover contextual influences a multiple-case study in four German organizations operating in the chemical industry was conducted. Data was collected using a multi-method design consisting of an analysis of documents and 28 semi-structured interviews. The study is among the first to apply the categorical model of context by Johns to the investigation of the implementation of health promotion programs. The results contribute to a more nuanced view of HRM implementation by highlighting the interrelationships between contextual factors stemming from the physical, social, and task context and implementation fidelity. By providing initial empirical evidence of the mechanisms underlying this relationship, this study sheds light on the complexity and breadth of contextual influences during the implementation of HPPs and offers several theoretical and practical implications.

Triaging your human capital: an integrative perspective on strategic human capital asset allocation

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overarching framework to guide the understanding of the allocation and deployment of strategic human capital assets within an organization. Using the concept of medical triage with business units analogous to “patients” and their performance to “symptoms or injuries,” the framework suggests a “steal from the poor” perspective that is counter to conventional organizational decline literature.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a conceptual paper proposing that there are five different categories of business unit need for human capital assets: expectant, deceased, immediate, delayed or minimal; all based on the type of environment and holistic performance of the business unit. Based on a business unit’s specific situation, the authors suggest a process model guiding how to conduct a triage analysis to optimize the allocation of strategic human capital assets within an organization.

Findings

The authors argue that current trends in assessing strategic human capital assets which make comparisons across organizations are necessary but insufficient (e.g. comparing a store to other stores in its district or region). Each business unit has its own unique internal capabilities and external constraints that also must be accurately assessed to make an informed organizational-level decision about where and how to deploy strategic human capital assets.

Originality/value

Borrowing from medical science, this paper demonstrates a new conceptual framework with propositions for researchers and guidance for practitioners.

Navigations for Hospitality Human Resource Management Research: Observing the Keywords, Factors, Topics under the COVID-19 Pandemic

The hospitality industry is one of the most affected by the pandemic, and because of its human close interaction and labor-intensive characteristics, it has left Human Resource Management (HRM) puzzles with organizations’ stabilization and recovery. This study aimed to summarize current research on hospitality HRM research outcomes and trends during the COVID-19 pandemic. Utilizing the PRISMA technique and NVivo software, 102 research articles were extracted and analyzed to highlight to overall achievement and movement of hospitality HRM research under the shadow of the COVID-19 crisis. Considering the main purpose of this study, which was to show the status and prospects, the findings indicated 309 free nodes and 26 secondary nodes based on grounded theory. 7 key themes clustered from the analysis and include “environmental factors”, “industrial factors”, “HRM practice”, “organization”, “employee”, “external outcomes”, and “methodology”. The results demonstrated the COVID-19 pandemic driven HRM transformation. In addition, it sheds light on how research responds to the shifting navigation of HRM within the hospitality context under the COVID-19 conditions.

Global talent management and multinational subsidiaries' resilience in the Covid‐19 crisis: Moderating roles of regional headquarters' support and headquarters–subsidiary friction

Resilience is central to developing organizational capability to respond to global crises such as the Covid‐19 pandemic. To date, few studies have examined the relationship between global talent management (GTM) and the organizational resilience of multinational enterprise (MNE) subsidiaries during crises. This study contributes to the GTM and crisis management literature by examining the role of GTM in MNE subsidiaries' resilience during the Covid‐19 crisis. Based on the sample of 166 Korean MNEs and their 1227 foreign subsidiaries, including 293 regional headquarters, operating in 49 host countries, this study shows a positive and significant impact of GTM on the resilience of Korean MNEs subsidiaries. Drawing on agency problems at the subsidiary level and bounded rationality at the headquarters level as factors that may bring about failure in TM in MNEs, as well as a core competence perspective, we shed light on the importance of the three‐layered governance structure of MNEs in the analysis of GTM and MNE subsidiaries' resilience. The study has practical implications for Korean MNEs and the organizational resilience of MNEs' subsidiaries during crises more generally.

Rethinking the strategic management of human resources: lessons learned from Covid-19 and the way forward in building resilience

Purpose

Numerous empirical studies and meta-analyses have offered ample evidence for the relationship between the strategic management of human resources and a variety of important organizational outcomes, such as individual- and firm-level performance. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, however, steered the discussion away from the traditional performance-related outcomes of the strategic human resource management and brought to the fore the importance of resilience. The purpose of this paper is to identify areas in which strategic human resource management can help organizations to become more resilient.

Design/methodology/approach

On the basis of a brief overview of the different phases of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the management of human resources, this conceptual paper uses the Ability-Motivation-Opportunity framework as the backbone for the development of suggestions for the strategic management of employees to create and maintain organizational resilience.

Findings

A series of actionable suggestions regarding the way forward in building organizational resilience through the effective and ethical management of employees are presented and discussed. Specifically, the importance of using flexibility-oriented human resource management systems is highlighted. This “flexibility-orientation” involves all functions of human resource management, such as selection, training and compensation.

Originality/value

The proposed suggestions can benefit organizations by offering actionable recommendations regarding the management of human resources by taking stock of lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic.