Human Resource Development Quarterly Research Articles

Celebrating 35 years of Human Resource Development Quarterly

Celebrating 35 years of Human Resource Development Quarterly

An Editor’s Learning Journey: Lessons for Moving the Field Forward

I share the results of my learning journeys as Editor of Human Resource Development Review ( HRDR) and Human Resource Development Quarterly ( HRDQ). I begin by sharing my experiences at both journals, followed by Lessons Learned, Advice and Implications for Editors, Advice and Implications for Authors and Doctoral Students, and Final Thoughts. Rigor, relevance, replicability, and refutability (four Rs) are put forth as major considerations for a quality journal and attaining and improving a Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) factor score. Having a developmental orientation toward prospective authors and a strong, active Editorial Board are highlighted as being vital for building the visibility and reputation of the journal. Social media as a visibility tool is also explored.

Testing the redundancy between work engagement and job attitudes: A replication and extension of the affective events theory in human resource development

AbstractThe purpose of the study was two‐fold. First, the study tested the claim suggested by Newman et al. (2011) (Human Resource Development Quarterly, 22, 37–47) that data from the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale appears to be redundant with the variance that is uniquely common to job satisfaction, affective organizational commitment, and job involvement. Second, the study tested the hypothesis that the variance in work engagement that is uniquely common to the set of job attitudes studied in Newman et al. is largely positive affect. Analyses not conducted in Newman et al. (2010) (Handbook of Employee Engagement: Perspectives, Issues, Research, and Practice, pp. 43–61) were performed to deconstruct the explained variance in work engagement into commonality coefficients representing all possible subsets of variables. The findings demonstrate that variance uniquely common to job satisfaction, affective organizational commitment, and job involvement did not dominate the regression effect as previously suggested. Further, the study found that almost 50% of the variance that was uniquely common to the job attitudes studied was common with positive affect. The results of this study will help scholars and scholar‐practitioners understand the complex relationships between work engagement, job attitudes, and positive affect.

Investigating the multidimensionality of informal learning: Validation of a short measure for white‐collar workers

AbstractThe challenges resulting from increasing digitalization and globalization require flexible continuing education for white‐collar workers. Especially informal learning becomes increasingly important in the modern workplace. Practitioners want to promote informal learning among employees, researchers want to unveil conducive contextual conditions for informal learning, but they lack an appropriate, validated measure. Based on the octagon model of informal workplace learning (Decius et al., Human Resource Development Quarterly, 2019, 30, 495–535) and an existing 24‐item scale for blue‐collar workers, we present a short version of eight items for use among white‐collar workers. Using three independent samples of 695, 500, and 3134 German employees, we show that the second‐order factor structure—following the multidimensional octagon model—has a better fit compared with a model in which all items load on a single factor. The short scale is strongly correlated with the original full scale. The scale's reliability is satisfying (α = 0.76/0.77/0.85; ω = 0.78/0.78/0.86), considering the heterogeneous conceptual nature of informal learning. Regarding criterion validity, we found theoretically expected correlations with job demands, job autonomy, knowledge/skill acquisition, age, and self‐directed learning orientation. Furthermore, the scale reveals measurement invariance across sociodemographic characteristics of gender and educational background. We also discuss implications for research and practice of the new informal learning measure among white‐collar workers.

Future‐proofing IJMR as a leading management journal: Reach, relevance and reputation

Future‐proofing <i>IJMR</i> as a leading management journal: Reach, relevance and reputation

Measuring the invisible: Development and multi‐industry validation of the Gender Bias Scale for Women Leaders

Measuring the invisible: Development and multi‐industry validation of the Gender Bias Scale for Women Leaders

Correlation of Workplace Spirituality and Work Engagement among Faculty of the Senior High School of San Beda University- Manila

Correlation of Workplace Spirituality and Work Engagement among Faculty of the Senior High School of San Beda University- Manila

Human Resource Development Quarterly and human resource development: Past, present, and future

<i>Human Resource Development Quarterly</i> and human resource development: Past, present, and future

A review of leadership theories: identifying a lack of growth in the HRD leadership domain

PurposeThis paper aims to identify the life-cycle of leadership theory from both the human resource development (HRD) and the organizational/leadership literature while providing a contrast between the two bodies of literature. The current research identifies which theories are being represented within the HRD literature, followed by a review of current directions in the leadership fields, primarily from literature in the organizational and leadership fields. By identifying these two bodies of leadership theories, the following research question will be answered: How current are the leadership theories provided in the literature of HRD compared to research that is reported from other external leadership fields?Design/methodology/approachThis paper examines how leadership theories are represented in the HRD literature. Data for the current article provide a preview of leadership theories that are used to inform HRD scholars and scholar–practitioners for a period of 15 years (2000-2015) in the four Academy of Human Resource Development (AHRD) publications (Advances in Developing Human Resources; Human Resource Development International; Human Resource Development Quarterly; and Human Resource Development Review). The four journals within the AHRD were reviewed to identify which leadership theories were being researched and used to inform members of HRD. The search terms for the current study included “leadership AND theory,” “team AND leadership,” “leadership AND development” and “team AND development.” Studies that presented a leadership theory and either described or defined the theory were coded for the current study. Within this body of literature, there were a total of 74 leadership theories identified (some repeating), among those there were a total of 20 unique leadership theories. The literature external of HRD was identified using the ScienceDirect database for 10 years (2007-2017) with the topics limited to “topics–leadership.” Once the HRD and organizational/leadership literature are presented, a comparison between the two literature streams will be provided, highlighting any deficiencies within either body of literature and recommendations for future research efforts for the field of HRD.FindingsThis examination of leadership theory study within HRD and other fields highlights the deficiencies within either body of literature and offers recommendations for future research efforts for the field of HRD. In line with the trend in leadership research, HRD should call for more longitudinal and multi-level research efforts to be conducted as opposed to cross-sectional studies.Research limitations/implicationsThe current study is limited in the literature that was used to collect/code data. Also, the time frame for the HRD literature ended in 2015 due to the long duration required to review articles and to code the data. Secondary data were obtained from organizational/leadership literature and are more current because they are more recent. Overall, even with an end date of 2015 for the HRD literature, the HRD field has not changed too much during this time and the authors recognize some minor changes, but the research findings are still relevant and the leadership deficits presented are still realized.Practical implicationsThe field of HRD is behind when it comes to leadership theories. This paper identifies this in an effort to aid researchers, students and practitioners to look beyond the leadership theories presented in the HRD literature for more relevant and current leadership theories. This paper highlighted a number of newer and current leadership theories and trends for scholars and scholar-practitioners to begin to focus on; however, this list is only a snapshot and is bounded by the data collected for the current paper.Originality/valueThis paper is original in that it is both critical of leadership research within the HRD literature while also providing new directions for the field. The snapshot of where the field of HRD is compared to the leadership and organizational fields becomes apparent with multiple future directions for research.

HRD in SMEs: A research agenda whose time has come

As can be seen from its website, and reiterated in numerous editorials (e.g., Anderson, 2017; Nimon, 2017; Reio & Werner, 2017), Human Resource Development Quarterly (HRDQ) provides a central focus on human resource development (HRD) issues as well as the means for disseminating empirical research across the breadth of the discipline. Furthermore, the listing of keywords on its website indicates the importance HRDQ places on knowing more about learning in workplace settings as it includes words and phrases such as workplace issues, workplace learning, organizational studies, and workplace performance. This is in line with general increased interest in organizational learning in recent years (Higgins & Aspinall, 2011). Therefore, it is concerning that HRDQ seldom reports on an area of workplace learning in a sector that, in many countries throughout the world, encompasses approximately 99% of all businesses, provides over 50% of employment, and can generate around 50% of national turnover (Chartered Institute for Personnel & Development [CIPD], 2015; Coetzer & Perry, 2008; European Commission, 2016; Federation of Small Businesses, 2015; Hamburg, Engert, Anke, & Marin, 2008; Matlay, 2014; Mellett & O'Brien, 2014; U.K. Parliament, 2014; U.S. Census Bureau, 2012). If you have not yet guessed, this area of learning, which is vital to economies across the globe, occurs in small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs). Consequently, in this editorial, we seek to explore the extent of this omission, not only in HRDQ but also in other journals, and then investigate possible reasons for this. We hope that by emphasizing both the importance of and the lack of reported research into HRD in SMEs, we will encourage further dialogue and submissions related to this important topic.

I-O Psychology and Human Resource Development: Yes, and . . .

It is encouraging to see the diversity of sources cited in the top introductory textbooks in industrial-organizational (I-O) psychology. It is not surprising that the Journal of Applied Psychology (JAP) and Personnel Psychology are off the charts in terms of the two most-cited sources in these six textbooks. However, I would not have expected that in these books, “77% of the top-cited articles were published in cross-disciplinary journals” (Aguinis et al., 2017, p. 507). I wish to build on Aguinis et al. (2017), with a focus on the relationship between I-O psychology and human resource development (HRD). I am the author of an HRD textbook (Werner, 2017a). The journal I co-edit, Human Resource Development Quarterly, is one of those “cross-disciplinary journals” on Aguinis et al.’s list of most-cited sources (56th out of 110, 40th in academic journals), with 16 citations. Finally, my article on legal issues in performance appraisal was cited in five of the six textbooks (Werner &amp; Bolino, 1997).

An integrative literature review on employee engagement in the field of human resource development: exploring where we are and where we should go

Numerous studies on employee engagement in the HRD (human resource development) field have contributed to the promotion of employee engagement in organizations, yet issues and challenges remain. The purpose of this study is to investigate how employee engagement has been discussed in four representative HRD journals: Human Resource Development Review (HRDR), Human Resource Development International (HRDI), Human Resource Development Quarterly (HRDQ), and Advances in Developing Human Resources (ADHR). We conduct a literature review based on Torraco’s (Hum Resour Dev Rev 4(3):356–367, 2005) framework, resulting in the selection of 24 articles for further review: 10 empirical articles and 14 conceptual articles. These articles are then classified, summarized, and synthesized by year of publication, research type and aim, and analysis of findings. Based on the results of the literature review, we analyze and identify the current state of employee engagement research in the HRD field and suggest implications for HRD scholars and practitioners.

Building Blocks of Contemporary HRD Research: A Citation Analysis on Human Resource Development Quarterly between 2007 and 2013

Building Blocks of Contemporary HRD Research: A Citation Analysis on Human Resource Development Quarterly between 2007 and 2013

Intervention research and its influence on nonintervention research in human resource development

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to identify how intervention research weighed in nonintervention research in the field of human resource development (HRD) by examining the number, citation frequency and use of experimental studies in HRD academic journals.Design/methodology/approachA total of 2,700 articles published between 1990 and 2014 from Advances in Developing Human Resources (ADHR), European Journal of Training and Development (EJTD), Human Resource Development International (HRDI) and Human Resource Development Quarterly (HRDQ) were reviewed and analyzed to identify 91 experimental studies in the field.FindingsThe total citation frequency of the 91 articles was 1,100 (14 from ADHR, 222 from EJTD, 56 from HRDI and 808 from HRDQ). The authors reviewed the 1,100 subsequent studies that cited 91 experimental research studies and coded them to identify the research methods that each article adopted and to determine whether the studies used the citation to make causal statements. As a result, the authors found 459 causal statements from 1,100 citations. In particular, they identified the citation frequency of the causal statements used in nonintervention research to examine how often nonintervention studies used causal statements from intervention studies.Research limitations/implicationsThe results of the citation frequency could be different according to the search engines and timeframes. Books, technical reports, non-English studies, non-academic articles and inaccessible articles were not considered in this study. Theoretically, this study aimed to illuminate the magnitude of HRD experimental research conducted over 25 years and to what extent it influenced non-experimental studies. In addition, this study emphasized the importance of using the causal statements from experimental research to improve empirical validation in other studies.Practical implicationsWhen HRD practitioners need to identify alternative interventions to replace previous ones or to justify the use of specific interventions, they could consider causal statements from empirical studies as valid evidence. Further, HRD practitioners might collaborate with researchers to receive more direct and relevant information from experimental research.Originality/valueSignificantly, this study provides an integrative review of experimental research conducted in the field of HRD in terms of the number, citation frequency and proportion of using experimental research. An additional contribution is that it summarizes the research methods used in HRD studies over 25 years.

Contending claims to causality: a critical review of mediation research in HRD

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to conduct a critical review of the mediation studies published in the field of Human Resource Development (HRD) to discern if the study designs, the nature of data collection and the choice of statistical methods justify the causal claims made in those studies. Design/methodology/approach This paper conducts a critical review of published refereed articles that examined mediation in Human Resource Development Quarterly, Human Resource Development International, Advances in Developing Human Resources and European Journal of Training and Development. Mediation studies published in these journals from 2000 to 2015 were identified and coded. The four journals sampled were chosen to provide breadth of coverage of the different types of empirical studies published in the field of HRD. Findings The review findings imply that HRD scholars are not employing experimental or longitudinal designs in their studies when randomized experiments and longitudinal studies with at least three waves of data collection are regarded as the golden standards of causal research. Further, the findings indicate that sophisticated statistical modeling approaches like structural equation modeling are widely used to examine mediation in cross-sectional studies and most importantly, a large number of such studies do not acknowledge that cross-sectional data does not allow definite causal claims. Research limitations/implications Although the findings urge us to rethink the inferences of mediation effects reported over the past 15 years in the field of HRD, this study also serves as a guide in thinking about framing and testing causal mediation models in future HRD research and even argues for a paradigm shift from a positivist orientation to critical and postmodern perspectives that can accommodate mixed methods designs for mediation research in HRD. Originality/value This paper presents a critical review of the trends in examining mediation models in the HRD discipline, suggests best practices for researchers examining the causal process of mediation and directs readers to recent methodological articles that have discussed causal issues in mediation studies.

The emotional turn in higher education: a psychoanalytic contribution

ABSTRACTThis article contributes to contemporary debates about the significance of emotions within Higher Education. Using a psychoanalytic lens we analyse the ways in which experiences of anxiety and tension are essential for learning. The anxiety associated with learning can stimulate meaningful and reflexive outcomes but ‘learning inaction’ [Vince, R. 2014. ‘What Do HRD Scholars and Practitioners Need to Know About Power, Emotion, and HRD?’ Human Resource Development Quarterly 25: 409–420] is also possible. In adopting a psychoanalytical lens we assert the agency of both learners and teachers in scholarly relationships and we draw attention to the emotions of educators as well as students. This has important implications for teacher education and academic formation activities.

What Will the HRDQ Future Be: When One Turns Into Three?

With this second issue of 2016, we are honored and privileged to be given the opportunity to work together as the incoming Co-Editors of Human Resource Development Quarterly (HRDQ). In our roles as Associate Editors from 2013 to 2015, we were able to learn much from the inspirational editorship of our predecessor, Andrea D. Ellinger. Andrea, along with outgoing Managing Editor Mary Lynn Lunn, have left the journal in very good shape. We are conscious that we “stand on the shoulders of giants,” as other past Editors of this journal include Richard A. Swanson, Gary N. McLean, Ronald L. Jacobs, Darlene F. Russ-Eft, Timothy G. Hatcher, and Baiyin Yang. We have a lot to live up to but are delighted that during our term as Co-Editors, we will be supported by a strong team of outstanding individuals who combine youth and experience and have offered their talents to the service of the journal. We are grateful to Claire Gubbins and Maura Sheehan, who have agreed to serve second terms as Associate Editors, and they will be joined by Travor C. Brown, Thomas G. Reio, and Seung Won Yoon, as well as Heather Short, our new Managing Editor, and Emily Elsner Twesme, our Editorial Assistant (Social Media). We are thrilled to work together with our new editorial team!

Moving on and Moving Upward: Final Reflections and Farewell

Moving on and Moving Upward: Final Reflections and Farewell

An initial assessment of measurement invariance in sales force coaching

ABSTRACTCoaching is an essential attribute of effective managers and leaders and it is becoming progressively more important for managerial practice and research. Given the increased interdependence between countries due to global commerce and the changing demographic landscape due to migration and mobility through borders, the interest for developing multilingual research increased. However, there are no published studies offering a translation of the original English coaching scales into languages that can be relevant for research in America and Europe. This paper presents a Spanish and French translation of the Perceptions of Supervisor/Line Manager Coaching Behaviour measure (Ellinger, Ellinger & Keller, 2003. Supervisory coaching behavior, employee satisfaction, and warehouse employee performance: A dyadic perspective in the distribution industry. Human Resource Development Quarterly, 14(4), 435–458) thus offering scholars and practitioners the possibility of conducting coaching studies in English, Spanish or French using the same standardised instrument. The paper also presents an initial assessment of measurement invariance using multisample confirmatory factor analysis across two languages (French and Spanish) using two samples: one with French-speaking Canadian respondents and the other one with Spanish-speaking Argentinian respondents. Results suggest that the proposed translations present partial invariance across the samples, with six items out of eight showing invariance and only two showing non-invariance.

Looking Back and Looking Forward: Trends in Training and Development Research

In connection with the 25th anniversary of Human Resource Development Quarterly, I have been asked to comment briefly on current and emerging trends in research on training and development, a core function of Human Resource Development (HRD). I will do this in three sections: a summary of past research, an examination of state‐of‐the‐art research, and a brief glimpse forward to the future.