Sustainable development and human resource management: A science mapping approach

Abstract

AbstractThis manuscript presents a systematic review of “sustainable human resource management” (HRM), highlighting its major themes and the evolution and tendencies observed in this field. It contributes to the development of this relatively new topic, offering a critical evaluation and identifying the highest impact research strands. The Web of Science database returned 111 documents spanning the period 1997–2018, and a conceptual science mapping analysis based on co‐word bibliographic networks was developed, using SciMAT as an analytical tool. The motor themes (well developed and important for the structure of the discipline) in the field of sustainable HRM are environmental management, socially responsible HRM, and turnover. Employee engagement is a specialised theme (well developed but less important for the structure of the research field), human resource practices is a basic or transversal theme (important for the discipline but not developed), and sustainable leadership and environmental performance are emerging themes (both weakly developed and marginal to the field).