The scope and trajectory of strategic HR research: evidence from American and British journals

Abstract

Many have argued that the field of human resource (HR) management has successfully transformed itself from the functional orientation of personnel management to a strategic orientation that is more relevant to the goals and effectiveness of business in the current competitive landscape. In this article, we assess that proposition by reviewing almost 1000 award-winning papers and articles published in leading US and British management journals since the mid-1990s. We use this data to evaluate the scope of HR research in the field, the extent to which it has changed, and whether changes in this research have kept pace with changes that organizations face in the current global economy. Consistent with the strategic HR framework, we find that the question of the link between HR and performance has, indeed, become the dominant one among both micro- and macro-organizational scholars. Contrary to expectations, however, micro-level research continues to be more prevalent than macro-organizational studies; and we find little change in the subjects and sites of research or theoretical approaches adopted. These characteristics of HR research are in sharp contrast with the dramatic changes occurring in the world of work – suggesting a mismatch between what HR scholars study and what issues and dilemmas organizations face. Finally, by assessing similarities and differences between the American and British scholarship, we are able to suggest a research agenda, more relevant to the current global economy, which builds on the strengths of each tradition.