Special issue on the changing economic environment: implications for human resource management

Citation

(2011), "Special issue on the changing economic environment: implications for human resource management", International Journal of Manpower, Vol. 32 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijm.2011.01632daa.001

Special issue on the changing economic environment: implications for human resource management

Article Type: Call for papers From: International Journal of Manpower, Volume 32, Issue 4

Guest Editors: Ángeles Montoro, David Urbano and Jose Luis Hervás

At the forthcoming 2nd Conference on "Brokering Knowledge" (Valencia, Spain, 20-22 March 2012), the International Journal of Manpower (IJM) will host a track devoted to the implications of the changing environment and economic conditions for human resource management.

Economic and financial conditions explain some of the shift away from the established work environment and the traditional patterns of employment. Todays's high unemployment may be preparing the ground for more efficent processes. The changes in the external environment of organizations have altered the nature of the workforce. These challenges include incorporating and utilizing the rapid advances in technology and addressing globalization-related changes such as increased competitive pressures, outsourcing and offshoring, and a global workforce that places a higher premium on cross-cultural sensitivities and skills. Other important factors arise from changes in labour market institutions. As the nature of doing business evolves, the role of human resource management will need to change, in parallel. Human resource management will need to break free from its bureaucratic past and focus on adopting and maintaining the best available methods and processes. To adapt to this changed working environment, traditional jobs will need to be more flexible and more use will need to be made of temporary and task-based contractual relationships. Amongst other tendencies, offshoring and outsourcing are becoming powerful trends in human resources management. The underlying rationale for these innovative processes includes financial savings, an increased ability to focus on strategic issues, access to technology and specialized expertise; in sum – maintaining the competitiveness of industries and firms, and therefore creating more jobs.

The Guest Editors are particularly interested in empirical contributions. Recommended topics include:

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  Integrative and interdisciplinary theoretical models on new tendences in workforce management.

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  Human resources management and strategic renewal processes in innovative firms.

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  Management and employee recruitment processes for increasing the competitiveness of firms: characteristics and consequences.

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  Training for creativity and innovation.

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  Retaining talent of managers and employees for increasing competitiveness.

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  Reward systems that enhance innovation of managers and employees.

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  Comparison of human resource practices (recruitment, selection, training, incentives) in the restructuring process.

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  The impact of downsizing on the workforce.

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  Turnover process models and their impact on workforce management.

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  Employees' career development opportunities under downsizing.

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  The impact of offshoring/outsourcing on employees.

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  Outsourcing and the transfer of expertise.

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  Strategies for enhancing the quality of the core workforce.

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  The effects of outsourcing on insourcing.

This Call invites proposals for papers to be presented at the IJM track at the Conference. The Editor-in-Chief of IJM, Adrian Ziderman, together with the Guest Editors, will make a selection from the papers presented in the track for inclusion in a special issue of IJM.

Please indicate that the paper is submitted for ``Track: The changing economic environment: implications for human resource management''. Questions about the special issue should be directed to one of the Guest Editors:

Professor David UrbanoE-mail: david.urbano@uab.es

Please ensure that papers adhere to the journal's author guidelines at: http://info.emeraldinsight.com/ products/journals/author_ guidelines.htm?id=ijm

The full version of the paper should be submitted no later than 15 October 2011. The paper will then be subjected to a double blind peer review. Papers accepted must be presented in person at the Conference in Valencia. A selection of the best papers presented in the track will be published in a special issue of IJM in the first half of 2013.