Strategic Human Resource Management and Employment Relations
Summary
Strategic Human Resource Management (HRM) and Employment Relations constitute a unified field concerned with aligning people management policies to organisational objectives while navigating the dynamic interplay between employers, employees and collective bodies. This domain examines how organisations design and implement integrated practices—ranging from workforce planning, talent development and performance management to flexible work arrangements and employee participation—to achieve competitive advantage, foster innovation and maintain employee wellbeing. Employment Relations, in parallel, investigates the institutional and regulatory frameworks, social partners and workplace dialogues that shape employment terms, dispute resolution and collective bargaining. Together, these strands illuminate tensions between managerial control and employee autonomy, the impact of globalisation and technological change on labour processes, and the role of institutional contexts in shaping both strategic alignment and worker voice.
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Strategic Human Resource Management and Employment Relations publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in strategic human resource management and employment relations across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Strategic Human Resource Management: The proactive alignment of HR policies and practices with an organisation’s long-term goals to optimise performance and employee engagement.
Employment Relations: The study and practice of interactions between employers, employees and collective representatives, including negotiation, conflict resolution and regulatory compliance.
Labour Process Theory: A critical framework examining how work organisation, managerial control and worker resistance shape labour relations within capitalist systems.
Institutional Context: The formal and informal rules—legal, cultural and social—that influence organisational practices and employment relations.
High-Involvement Work Systems: Integrated sets of HR practices that emphasise employee participation, empowerment and skill utilisation to enhance organisational performance.
References
- Labor process theory and critical HRM: A systematic review and agenda for future research. European Management Journal (2023).
- Institutions as constraints and resources: Explaining cross‐national divergence in performance management. Human Resource Management Journal (2018).
- Human Resource Management (HRM) Functions in Organizational Development and Sustainability in Nigeria. Global Journal of Human Resource Management (2023).
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