Human Resource Development Research Research Articles

Job Crafting and Performance: Literature Review and Implications for Human Resource Development

Although work design is a significant theoretical foundation of human resource development (HRD), it has garnered little attention from researchers in the HRD field. To help remedy this oversight, we review job crafting, which is one of the most recent and significant work design theories. After reviewing 28 empirical studies examining the relationship between job crafting and performance, we discuss future research possibilities and implications for HRD theory and practice. As job crafting has been shown to have a positive relationship with performance, we encourage HRD researchers and practitioners to extend their understanding and application of job crafting.

A Review of Technology Research in HRD From a Design-Based Research Perspective

This review article is to examine the technology-related literature published in major human resource development (HRD) journals from a design-based research perspective. Despite the important role of technology in HRD activities for promoting organizational learning and performance, our understanding of the potential impact of our technology research efforts in the workplace remains limited. To address this deficiency, the authors reviewed technology research studies from five journals using two conceptual frameworks: (a) goal categories of technology research and (b) research phases and activities using a design-based research perspective, to better understand how technology research processes have been localized in organizations. Findings indicate that the major trend of technology research is in describing and conceptualizing what is happening. When using a design-based research framework, a substantial number of articles focused on analysis and reflection aspects of research activities. Implications for the technology research landscape in HRD are discussed.

Transculturalized Diversity and Inclusion Model: A New Framework for Disabilities

The Problem After 30+ years of debating the best model for disability, there is a need for a new framework. As the medical model of disability seeks a cure and the social model points to the environment, neither model is without its flaws. Human resource development (HRD) professionals and practitioners are in a position to craft a model that reflects the experiences of people with disabilities. This new model will strengthen HRD’s importance in the field and its impact on other disciplines. The Solution This article offers consideration to be given for a new model for disability that addresses the complexities of cultural boundaries, gives value to the experiences of people with disabilities, and changes language in how disabilities are described. Using the results of the literature review, a path to the Transculturalized Diversity and Inclusion Model lays the groundwork for further research. This article accesses the perceptions of people with disabilities regarding both models, incorporates the strategies used by HRD scholars and researchers for improving value in a growing population of disabled people, and synthesizes a platform for future discussion and development of the Transculturalized Diversity and Inclusion Model. The Stakeholders HRD practitioners, especially those serving populations with disabilities, will benefit greatly from a new model and perspective provided by the Transculturalized Diversity and Inclusion Model. HRD scholars likewise will be provided with a new framework for conducting research on people with disabilities in the workplace.

Human Resource Development for Racial/Ethnic Diversity: Do School Systems Value Teachers of Color?

The ProblemThe small representation of Teachers of Color in comparison with their White counterparts continues to trouble the teaching profession. Since Teachers of Color often have a vital impact on student engagement and academic outcomes, there is a pressing need to identify policies and practices that increase recruitment and retention.The SolutionGiven the current state of racial/ethnic teacher diversity in the United States, human resource development scholarship can be informative for addressing teacher retention. The Diversity Intelligence (DQ) and People as Technology (PT) Conceptual Model, as human resource development conceptual tools, are useful for understanding ways to support the academic and professional growth of Teachers of Color. These models are positioned to advance educational leaders’ and human resource professionals’ understandings of the ways in which the education field works to increase the number of Teachers of Color who enter and remain in the profession.The StakeholdersSchool leaders, policymakers, human resource development professionals and researchers, and reformers can better understand how school systems value (or do not value) Teachers of Color.

How to Reinforce the Regional Employment Agencies' Network

The objective of this article is to examine the present status and networking issues among Korea's regional employment agencies in order to prepare for a future job crisis and weakened national competitiveness caused by pressure from a super-aged society and the expected fourth industrial revolution. The results are as follows. First, in addition to government departments and regional governments, many employment agencies in Busan are also part of this community such as the regional human resource development (HRD) committee, training institutions, industrial councils, management groups, schools, companies, and research centers. Second, many of the agencies participate in low-level networking, however, on a scale of networking intensity, as the intensity increases, the number of agencies participating decreases. Third, according to degree centrality and eigenvector centrality, Busan and the Busan Regional Job Center play a central role in regional employment. Fourth, the Busan HRD Committee, the vocational training institutions, and the employment service agencies act as facilitators.

Conclusion: Diversity Intelligence as a Core of Diversity Training and Leadership Development

Problem: Leadership development is a core part of training, education, and career management strategies in organizations. Yet, leaders are not translating what they learn about protected class employees during leadership development initiatives back to the workplace. Solution: Diversity intelligence should be added to organizational diversity and leadership development training and education initiatives. With DQ as a core of the training and education initiatives, leaders may acquire the needed ability to translate what they learn to actual practice. A conceptual model for DQ as a core of leadership development and typology of leaders with low and high DQ are provided. They will be able to better lead their protected class followers because they will know who they are and how to enhance their performance. Stakeholders: Workplace leaders, diversity trainers, educators, and career management professionals are provided ideas for enhancing their diversity improvement efforts. Implications for Human Resource Development professionals and researchers are also offered.

Exploring Leaders’ Discriminatory, Passive-Aggressive Behavior Toward Protected Class Employees using Diversity Intelligence

The ProblemAs there is diversity in many workplaces, diversity intelligence (DQ) needs to be integrated alongside intellectual, emotional, and cultural intelligences to be effective. DQ requires leaders to have knowledge to understand protected class employees and the legal mandates and executive orders established to protect those employees from discriminatory practices at work. Irrespective of the billions of dollars invested in diversity or antidiscriminatory practices training, many protected class workers remain underutilized or marginalized due to leaders’ unfamiliarity with these groups of workers and/or incompetence to harness their talents to achieve organizational goals. DQ deficiencies trigger some leaders to apply passive-aggressive behaviors as a coping mechanism. These passive-aggressive behaviors can lead to a toxic and hostile work environment as evidenced through high attrition, unrealized productivity, feelings of frustration, fear, disappointment, resentment, among other adverse responses from both leaders and employees.The SolutionTo efficiently and effectively integrate protected class employees to contribute at their optimum levels, leaders need to possess DQ. Leaders in this study need to be educated or reeducated so that they understand who protected class employees are in the workplace.The StakeholdersImplications for human resource development professionals and researchers are offered. Opportunities for workplace leaders and protected class employees are presented.

Diversity Branding Strategy: Concealing Implicit Stereotypes and Biased Behaviors

The ProblemFrom a business perspective, the expression valuing diversity is commonly used as a branding strategy to enhance an organization’s competitive advantage. The problem with diversity branding is its potential to decenter biased behaviors that could actually conceal the detrimental effects of unfair treatment under the banner of valuing difference. Presenting diversity as a utopian state without an ethical and moral concern for the people it represents is a misnomer and is in itself a misrepresentation of value. This article will argue for a more holistic philosophy of diversity that is concerned with the value of people as well as the value diversity brings to an organization’s financial success.The SolutionSocially responsible leadership and the action efforts of those seated at the strategic planning table are key to reframing a more holistic philosophy for valuing diversity. Human resource development (HRD) professionals are strategically positioned in multiple roles within the organization to participate in matters of diversity and bringing about social change. Diversity intelligence will be discussed as an emerging model for guiding leaders and decision makers toward upholding an antidiscrimination commitment through the integration of business and social justice perspectives of valuing diversity.The StakeholdersHRD researchers, practitioners, and educators who are committed to social justice outcomes for marginalized groups in the workplace; and organizational leaders responsible for developing and implementing diversity strategy.

Organizational Social Capital: Ties Between HRD, Employee Voice, and CEOs

Growing employee voice increases the likelihood that employees will engage in discretionary efforts to share potentially useful information, express opinions, or concerns about work-related issues to their supervisors and other leaders in the organization. We develop a conceptual model and a series of propositions to examine and analyze the underlying mechanisms that enhance employee voice. Specifically, we identify linkages and connections between human resource development (HRD) practices, organizational social capital (OSC), and the role of CEOs as facilitating environmental or situational mechanisms that have implications on voice behavior. HRD can play a key role in helping employees foster social capital, leading to employee voice in the organization. When CEOs extend their existing internal social networks, and engage in conversations with workers, this dialogue serves as a visible artifact and reverberates across the organization. Our propositions move beyond framing employee-related voice outcomes as a result of either HRD practices or CEO influence. Rather, we postulate an outcome of their interdependent interactions. Implications for HRD research and practice are discussed.

The Psychology of Diversity Resistance and Integration

Diversity resistance is the dynamic interplay of individual and collective behaviors, with individual resistance rooted in unconscious motivation and organizational resistance rooted in the collective behavior of individuals. The purpose of this article is to enrich understanding of the forms of diversity resistance and introduce literature which may help move individuals and organizations to more equitable and integrative norms. We present a continuum of diversity resistance and integration in organizations to help human resource development (HRD) researchers and professionals consider how resistance to diversity can be reduced in leading to the full integration of employees. The continuum consists of (a) Resistance, (b) Discrimination Prevention, (c) Access and Legitimacy, (d) Inclusion, and (e) Integration and Learning. A psychological perspective is presented on resistance for HRD professionals helping leaders to facilitate diversity-related change.

Advancing national human resource development research: suggestions for multilevel investigations

ABSTRACTNational human resource development (NHRD) is now an important area of investigation within human resource development with significant growth in publications over 49 years. Scholars have, however, highlighted the need for multilevel approaches to NHRD. We reviewed 192 papers to identify gaps on multilevel theorizing, and we propose a multilevel framework incorporating macro, meso, and micro levels of analysis. We develop principles and guidelines around WHAT, HOW, WHERE, WHEN, and WHY questions to promote multilevel NHRD research. Finally, we discuss research and methodological implications of our review.

Confucian philosophy and influence on perceived values and behavioural orientations by Taiwan’s millennials

ABSTRACTThis study examines the millennials’ perceptions of Confucianism and their influence on their personal values and behavioural orientations with a sample from Taiwan to address the research gap in intergenerational and intercultural human resource development (HRD) research. It complements results from western research and offers important insights to worldwide managers and HRD practitioners for talent development and learning-related initiatives when working with employees and organizations with East Asia backgrounds. The concept of Confucius’ process of developing into a virtuous person seems to be rooted in the Taiwanese millennials’ mind, who as guided by Confucius tend to have a primary focus on accumulating knowledge, practicing moral behaviour, and correcting one’s mind and behaviour. Along with the globalization and technology advancement, the sampled millennials hold a strong traditional values of Confucian philosophy; yet, such strong cultural values may be attenuated a great deal after exposing to western culture over times. The Confucian virtue (moral) behaviour practice, harmonious relations, and self-cultivation are found as top three factors of Confucian values. Implications for HRD practices and recommendations for future research are discussed.

Causes, Contingencies, and Consequences of Disengagement at Work: An Integrative Literature Review

Disengagement at work is proving to be a source of continued trouble for business organizations. Various estimates suggest that in excess of 70% of the workforce is either passively or actively disengaged, which in turn subjects the organizations to enormous financial burden. Regretfully, this problem has not found sufficient intellectual resonance in the academia. Therefore, employing conservation of resources (COR; Hobfoll, 1989) as the guiding theory, in this research, we conduct an integrative literature review to consolidate the extant approaches to disengagement at work. Apart from explaining the construct, we also identified its antecedents, moderating influences, and outcomes. Implications for human resource development (HRD) research and practice have been discussed. We believe that such an attempt is likely to encourage an informed debate on the subject in the academic domain, while helping practitioners identify actionable interventions.

Organizational citizenship behaviour for collectivist cultures: instrument development and human resource development implications

ABSTRACTOrganizational citizenship behaviour (OCB) is an increasingly examined construct in human resource development (HRD) research. The OCB construct is noted for being heavily influenced by culture leading to renewed calls for the development of OCB definitions and measurement approaches that can be used internationally. This study developed an OCB measurement appropriate for use in a collectivist society using Thailand as the setting. A literature review and a series of interviews with human resource directors were used for item generation. A survey of 1779 employees and 751 supervisors was then conducted to examine the cultural appropriateness of classifying the items as either in-role or citizenship behaviours in order to reduce the number of items. The resulting 35-item instrument was tested with survey data from 451 employees. Results showed acceptable validity for the instrument with conclusions and discussion highlighting the need for future analysis and refinement for further application of culturally relevant measures for use in international HRD research and professional practice.

Authentic Leadership in HRD—Identity Matters! Critical Explorations on Leading Authentically

The Problem Authentic leadership (AL) has been viewed as an attractive leadership model to combat destructive forms of leadership. On a simple level, it is difficult to argue against authenticity when leading and developing leaders. However, on a deeper level, many scholars have challenged the ideas supporting authentic leadership to highlight the model’s theoretical assumptions and implicit values. Of the critiques, one of the most relevant challenges for HRD (Human Resource Development) is the critique based on identity because this critique aligns with HRD’s focus on diversity and inclusion. The problem is that HRD researchers and practitioners need to understand more about how authentic leadership, as described typically in scholarly and practitioner journals, homogenizes the workplace and discounts diverse ways of being authentic. The Solution The articles in this Special Issue offer a variety of different perspectives on the connection between authentic leadership and identity to make transparent the hidden assumptions, power dynamics, and contextual forces at play. When these unexamined and implicit factors are considered, HRD scholars and practitioners will be in a better position to promote diversity and inclusion in the workplace, as well as in teaching, research, and service. The Stakeholders Researchers and practitioners interested in authentic leadership, diversity and inclusion, and power.

Authentic Leadership and Talent Development: Fulfilling Individual Potential in Sociocultural Context

The Problem Although leadership researchers have alluded to a connection between talent and leadership, the relationship has not been explored. The Solution Leadership entails influence through inspiration. A key assumption of this article is that people inspire others when they themselves are inspired by what they do and, further, that such inspiration stems from authentic talent development. Authentic talent development is a process whereby individuals discover what they are good at and love to do, and use their talents to express their values. This article incorporates insights from the leadership authenticity and talent development literatures to present a framework of authentic leadership and talent development in sociocultural context. The framework illuminates how social identity ascription processes can thwart the course of an individual’s talent development efforts. It also shows how individuals can overcome these pressures by cultivating positive psychological capital (PsyCap), thereby pursuing personally resonant talent trajectories. The Stakeholders This article is relevant to Human Resource Development (HRD) researchers and scholar-practitioners, and those that design and deliver leadership development programs. It is also relevant to students of leadership in academic and corporate settings.

Means vs ends: theorizing a definition of human resource development

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyze the extant human resource development (HRD) definition research literature and theorizes a new definition of HRD.Design/methodology/approachThe authors adopted keyword and content analyses to examine selected 32 HRD definitions in relation to different organizational and sociopolitical contexts base on theory development criteria and methodology for definition research.FindingsFrom a theoretical perspective, the extant definitions were mostly empirical descriptions of HRD practice with conceptualization being absent. From a context perspective, the definitions were based on HRD phenomena indigenous to the western world, especially the USA and Western Europe. They can hardly explain HRD phenomena in a non-western context. The glaring gaps lead to theorizing a new definition by focusing on the hard core of HRD in defining and criterial attributes. The defining attribute of HRD is its host-system-dependence, and the criterial attributes are its shaping and skilling mechanisms.Research limitations/implicationsThis study unveils that HRD is a means to support the ends defined by the corresponding host system, and not an end in itself. This definition is applicable to different sociopolitical, cultural, and organizational contexts. It provides clear criteria and boundaries to gauge the relevance of HRD research and shows the unique identity of HRD, thus offering new directions to expand the landscape of HRD research.Practical implicationsThe new definition can help human resources practitioners better understand the role and mechanism of HRD that the worldwide practitioners can resonate in various sociocultural and political contexts. Communicating the definition and goals of HRD will enhance internal clients’ understanding and appreciation of the value of HRD.Originality/valueThis study fills important research gaps in HRD definition research. It is the first HRD definition derived through a rigorous theory development process. The new definition connects the HRD research niche to the general human resource literature and lead to new HRD research.

When work comes home: technology-related pressure and home support

ABSTRACTGiven the prevalence of workers bringing work home, issues arising from this practice are a central concern of human resource development (HRD) researchers and practitioners. This study investigates factors related to home boundary permeability (the extent to which one’s home domain is interrupted by work-related matters). Specifically, we examine the impact of technology-related pressure on home boundary permeability, and test both positive and negative consequences of home boundary permeability, along with the role of home support. Based on quantitative data from 267 full-time employees in the Midwestern United States, we found technology-related pressure predicted home boundary permeability, even after accounting for a person’s preference for work–home segmentation. Our findings suggest that high home boundary permeability may be a double-edged sword as it was significantly associated with both greater work-to-home conflict and positive spillover. Further, home support was found to play a buffering role in the relationship between home boundary permeability and work-to-home conflict. Suggestions for how HRD and management practitioners can help employees achieve a healthy balance between work and home are offered.

Conceptual Organization and Identity of HRD: Analyses of Evolving Definitions, Influence, and Connections

The rapid expansion and diversification of human resource development (HRD) research and practices is a welcoming sign for HRD scholars, who are interested in improving a social system through developing human resources. At the same time, however, it raises questions about the core identity and boundary of the field and desirable future directions. This study aims to trace the significant thematic periods, called the wave in the evolution of HRD, from its early development days to the present. In doing so, we present how “the body of HRD knowledge is evolving through the intellectual evolutionary process” based on analyses of widely cited definitions, influential work, and connections among co-appearing research topics. As the finding, we identified three distinctive waves of evolutionary phases of HRD research: (a) developing definition of disciplinarity, (b) competition and selection between major paradigms, and (c) divergence and expansion of topics. Major characteristics of each period and the influence between periods were also described.

The Experience of Workplace Spirituality: Do Age and Educational Attainment Matter?

We examined the experience of workplace spirituality with respect to its three dimensions namely, meaningful work (sense of purpose in work), sense of community (sense of relationship with others at work), and value allignment (match between employee and organization’s values). We also compare the experience of spirituality among younger and older employees and among those with different levels of educational attainment. Using self-administered survey questionnaires, we collected data from 274 Malaysian public service employees involved in poverty alleviation programs in the rural sector. The experience of workplace spirituality is considerably high for all the three dimensions, especially so for meaningful work. Workplace spirituality did not differ significantly by employee age but differed significantly by employee educational attainment. The experience of workplace spirituality for all the three dimensions were greater among employees with college and university education than their counterparts with high school education. Implications for human resource development and future research are presented.