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This chapter aims to clarify the future of the HR profession in the digital age by translating and extrapolating results of recent studies in a creative way. The main question is ‘What will be the effects of digitization on the HRM profession?’

The methodological approach is threefold. A theoretical concept of digital impact on the HRM profession is constructed based on a task-based analysis of the Ulrich roles. Second, in two sessions HRM Professionals reflect on the main question and give assessments. Third, a secondary analysis is carried out on the HRM practice monitor and five hypotheses are tested (primary role of HR, time spent in an activity cluster, typification of the HRM department).

The outcomes give no clear and unequivocal picture yet. Although the theoretical concept, actual research, professional literature and consulted professionals indicate that the HRM profession is already or will soon get more strategic due to digitization, the secondary analysis of the HRM practice monitor does not confirm that tendency.

The limitations of this research comprise flaws in the HRM practice monitor, the questionable web instrument and the lack of a clear and broadly accepted definition of digitization. Follow-up research seems to be very worthwhile and has a lot of possible starting points.

This research offers a new way of looking at the HRM profession in transition by combining the Ulrich model with a task-based analysis. Furthermore the evidence is based on 4 years (2012–2015) of data collection.

The purpose of this paper is to review the roles of human resource management (HRM) specialists in the contemplation and implementation of innovation in employing organisations and workplaces.

The authors review some of the literature and practice in this field as well as 11 other articles that are included in this special issue.

The authors propose six research questions. First, are HRM specialists analysing relevant trends and their implications for the future of work and the workforce? Second, are HRM specialists enabling employing organisations to identify and enable innovative ideas? Third, to what extent are HRM specialists leading partnership arrangements with organised labour? Fourth, what is the role of HRM specialists in creating inclusive work environments? Fifth, how should HRM specialists change to foster enterprise performance, intrapreneurship, agility, creativity and innovation? Sixth, to what extent is there an HRM function for line managers in coordination with HRM specialists in engendering innovation around “change agent” roles?

The authors argue that HRM specialists should embrace and enable innovation. The authors challenge HRM specialists to consider how they can contribute to facilitating innovation. The paper proposes further research on HRM and range of associated stakeholders who, together, have responsibility for innovating in the design and delivery of HRM to enrich our knowledge of HRM and workplace innovations.

The purpose of this article is to introduce the special issue which considers the impact that the global world has had on the profession of HRM.

In June 2009, the International Human Resource Management Conference was held in Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA. Various IHRM papers were presented, and of these, many were subjected to a second round of reviews for this special issue. This special issue is made up of the best papers.

The article highlights that as IHRM has emerged as an academic discipline, a variety of debates and issues have come to dominate the literature. For practitioners, a long‐standing issue has been the delineation of specific practices to be used in the management of people within international organizations. Over time, practices have emerged, and texts today can readily be found that represent such practices for those working in MNCs as HR managers.

A number of concerns about HRM are raised in this issue, most of which are addressed by the papers chosen.

In 2016, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) introduced new standards for human resource management (HRM). The purpose of this paper is to describe and explain the significance that human resource (HR) professionals attribute to global HRM standards, what outcomes they envisage for the profession and organizations, and what influences engagement in the standardization project.

The analyses interpret the relationship between standards, professions, and organizations by combining theories of professions with concepts from institutional theory. The study is ethnographic and consists of observations of meetings and interviews with eight participants from the Swedish committee participating in the ISO project.

HR professionals consider HRM standards positive for the profession’s legitimacy, status, and development, which are also considered beneficial for organizations. However, difficulties in recruiting participants and organizations to the standardization project may prevent positive exchanges for the profession, and point to a weak interest in HRM issues from the HR professionals themselves.

The generalizability of the results is somewhat limited due to the small sample size. Nevertheless, the study provides insights into how HR professionals reason about their profession and professionalization.

Gaining insights into the forthcoming global standards for HRM is important for HR professionals. These standards may be implemented in organizations worldwide and affect how HRM is conducted, and therefore also have a profound effect on the profession.

The ISO’s targeting of a specific occupation is unique. The paper contributes with the knowledge on how professionals relates to standardization of the given field.

Recruitment and selection experiences are part of a process of pre‐entry organisational socialisation, also known as anticipatory socialisation. Graduates are susceptible to such effects as their socialisation through exposure to professional employers begins during training. Employers’ practices are thought to contribute to the formation of realistic career expectations and the initial psychological contract between graduates and employers. The present study found that students in traditional professions reported greater exposure to employers than students in an emerging profession through work activities, more proactive engagement in recruitment events, and more extensive experience of selection processes at similar stages of study. Greater activity, in turn, was related to career expectations, including varying levels of commitment to and interest in the profession and career clarity.

The management of human resources is of crucial importance in enabling the delivery of efficient and effective services. The purpose of this paper is to explore one issue relevant to Human Resource Management, that is, the management of hospital doctors in the NHS. The present‐day UK National Health Service faces countless challenges at both the macro and operational level.

The paper examines the implications for the NHS in general, and the medical profession in particular, of the continued dominance of the medical profession over the career management of hospital doctors.

The paper argues that HRM must play a pivotal role in the management of clinicians to ensure the effective and efficient delivery of NHS reforms. The challenges to HRM and the medical profession that are inherent in this process are outlined.

It is argued that the potential long‐term gains to be derived from the development of closer working relationships between human resource managers and medical managers are crucial for the delivery of an effective health service.

A new and innovative way of looking at the management of doctors and their careers within a changing NHS.

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to ongoing debates regarding the human resource management (HRM)-firm performance relationship. In seeking to provide a more complete picture of the relationship, the paper discusses the existing literature and proposes an integrative framework that draws upon different literatures and multiple theoretical perspectives.

This review includes nearly 100 research studies published in this field. The review includes papers published in mainstream HRM journals and broader management journals with strong ties to HRM literature. Importantly, the paper also identifies a gap – a missing link – that concerns the importance of incorporating insights from corporate governance (CG) literature when considering strategic HR decision-making.

A significant contribution of this paper to theory is to propose an integrative framework that conceptualises the elusive relationship between HRM and firm performance, and which draws on different literatures and multiple theoretical perspectives in to offer more holistic insights into the relationship. The paper discusses the implications of the integrative perspective for theory and practice.

This paper argues that one of the main stumbling blocks for developing a better understanding of the mechanisms through which HRM creates value in an organisation is the fragmentation of the HRM literature between “HR as practices” and “HR as the department/profession”, as well as a tendency to neglect insights from the CG literature.