ABSTRACT This study aims to investigate how middle managers help subordinates expand their successes, drawing on experiential learning theory and the broaden-and-build theory. Using an open-ended survey of middle managers (n = 203) working for a global manufacturer of motor vehicles and parts in Japan, the grounded theory approach was used to develop the model of experiential learning support for expanding successes. The results suggest that managers tend to help their subordinates review and expand their successes through four phases that consist of recognition and acceptance, analysis (causal analysis, generalisation, and improvement) sharing (documentation and standardisation and knowledge sharing) and application (stretched assignments and action plan). This study contributes to the literature on Human Resource Development by identifying positive instructional methods for developing employees.

ABSTRACT Technology and its applications have had a significant impact on human resource development (HRD), and they will continue to do so at an ever-increasing speed. We used our a priori opinions and experiences to identify application areas. We then searched, within each of our identified areas to find published sources, including journals, blogs, and websites, to describe the application areas that have impacted, and will impact, HRD. Areas identified and described include authoring, performance management and coaching, personalisation and continuous learning, analytic metrics, robotic continuous improvement, employee engagement and autonomy, employee wellbeing and life balance, attrition reduction, simulations, digital dialogues, communities of practice, credentialing, soft skills development, and ethics. Given the extensive impact on HRD, practitioners must be ahead of the wave of change. Further, academic programs must assess their curricula and make modifications so graduates of their programs will be well prepared to meet the demands of the marketplace. While a critique of these applications of digitalisation and AI is important, that is not the purpose of our article; we limited ourselves to describing the applications only.

ABSTRACT Appreciating the contribution of critical human resource development (CHRD) scholarship to raise critical perspectives and practices in HRD, this study explored the development of CHRD scholarship over 20 years (2003–2022) using social network analysis (SNA), particularly focusing on analysing citation and authorship networks in CHRD journal articles. In doing so, this study identified influential CHRD authors, articles, and the structure of CHRD authorship communities – eight connected core groups and many disconnected periphery groups. Further, the CHRD authorship networks were explored and visualised on a five-year basis. The analysis results identified that particular core members, largely White women scholars working in the US or UK, led the CHRD scholarship. Also, community groupings and each community’s key themes were found to be related to the national locations of the authors’ affiliated institutions. Additionally, this study found a recent shift of CHRD scholarship towards smaller, more cohesive communities within the larger network. Based on the findings, this study provides theoretical and practical implications and concludes with a call for building inclusive CHRD scholarship networks.

ABSTRACT Artificial intelligence (AI) in business coaching, as in other human resource development professional service roles, opens up the possibility of multiple chances, such as cost- and time-effective gains. However, as AI can act autonomously and may surpass human performance, it can both lead to unforeseen risks as well as create a threat for professional service workers, including business coaches. Using a within-subject threat manipulation design, the present research investigated whether business coaches (N = 436; from over 50 different countries) respond to the topic of AI in coaching with heightened threat-related affective states and how this change affects their attitude towards the topic. Expectedly, the topic evoked higher behavioral inhibition and lower behavioral activation threat-related affective states, leading to lower curiosity in and a more negative opinion of AI in coaching. Theoretical and practical implications are addressed to lower the coaches’ threat-related affective states towards AI application in professional services. A hybrid approach between responsible AI and an ethically skilled and professionally trained coach is recommended.

ABSTRACT A successful school-to-work transition is a foundation for long-term career success. Yet, in an increasingly globalized world of work, there is still little understanding of this process in the context of international students – skilled migrants whose school-to-work transition may be complicated by the cross-cultural transition. This study aimed to answer the research question: to what extent are international students’ individualism/collectivism and acculturation orientations related to the indirect relationship between a protean career orientation and perceived employability via career competencies? To answer this question, we conducted a quantitative study among 302 international Master’s students in the Netherlands. Our findings showed that having a protean career orientation is related positively to perceived employability via career competencies. Contrary to our expectations, international students’ individualism/collectivism cultural orientation did not moderate this indirect relationship. However, surprisingly, high individualism was negatively associated with career competencies. Regarding acculturation orientations, we found that host culture orientation did not impact the indirect relationship between a protean career orientation and perceived employability, while high home culture orientation strengthened this relationship. Together, these findings show that both career and cultural orientations may play a role in international students’ career competencies development and employability and, thus, their career success abroad.

ABSTRACT This study examines how organisational learning processes, such as learning stocks, learning flows, and external learning affect Korean small- and medium-sized enterprises’ (SMEs) perceived recovery and organisational performance through learning from failure. The double moderated mediation impact of organisational trust and owner-managers’ interest in human resource development (HRD) in these relationships has been tested. About 400 SMEs were selected and a self-reported online survey was administered. Among them, 296 SMEs were analysed based on their experience in employee development. All three organisational learning activities have an impact on perceived failure recovery and organisational performance through learning from failure. Additionally, organisational trust and owner-managers’ interest in HRD moderates the relationship between organisational learning activities. However, owner-managers’ interest in HRD has a negative moderating effect, indicating that power-political relationships impede learning from failure. Using the method of self-reporting to identify the role of organisational learning from failure, this study addresses the lack of empirical research with an integrated approach on this topic. The findings have several academic and practical implications. Owner-managers must engage in various developmental activities to build trust among members and should create space and time where employees feel free to share ideas and reflect on their opinions.

ABSTRACT In this article, we report results of an experimental study investigating the use of ChatGPT in the design of an HRD intervention. Our goal was to identify the benefits and drawbacks of using this technology in HRD practice. The theoretical framework for the study was provided by the Activity Theory, an often used approach in Human-Computer Interaction research. The study participants were HRD doctoral students from two large public universities in the USA. The participants used ChatGPT in developing an HRD intervention plan, based on a supplied organisational scenario. Data for the analysis included the intervention plans, prompts used by participants, outputs received from ChatGPT, and participants’ responses to open-ended questions. The study revealed varied participant experiences with ChatGPT, including differences in time investment and interaction rules. Among key findings were the tendency to interact with ChatGPT as if it were a human consultant, and steps to establish division of labour between the tool and the human agent. ChatGPT was valued for its usefulness in initial planning and brainstorming ideas for HRD interventions, yet its limitations were apparent in generic responses and lack of contextual understanding. Across all participants, the crucial role of human expertise in refining ChatGPT’s output was consistently highlighted.

ABSTRACT As a result of the rapid development of technologies, artificial intelligence (AI) is changing human experiences and workplaces in ways that we are not prepared for. Recognized as a double-edged tool, AI has brought both positive and negative outcomes to organisations and employees. With its increasing popularity in the workplace and our daily practice, how to use AI intelligently and responsibly has become a top concern raised by both academics and practitioners. In this article, we discuss the desired and unintended consequences of AI as documented in current literature, examine the ethical concerns, and identify current solutions. We propose ‘keeping HRD in the loop’ as a means to addressing ethical challenges associated with AI and offer a new conceptual framework as a tool for reference. Integrating general AI principles and ethical guidelines developed by the Academy of HRD, we map out an ethical boundary consisting of nine human-centred principles and suggest a sample of six HRD interventions that can facilitate responsible AI practices and productive human-machine interfaces. By bringing HRD perspectives into the domain of AI practice, we hope to bring ethical considerations to the forefront of AI decision-making and stimulate more interest in interdisciplinary research and academic-industry collaboration.

ABSTRACT Promoting a thriving and productive workforce is a core task for human resource development (HRD) researchers and practitioners. Drawing on the job demands-resources model, this study aims to provide a balanced view of how high performance work systems (HPWSs) influence employee performance through different aspects of employee well-being. Data were collected from 346 employees through a three-wave survey in China. Structural equation modelling was used to test the hypotheses. The results reveal that HPWSs positively predict employee performance through psychological empowerment and negatively predict employee performance through emotional exhaustion. Workplace friendship minimises the positive effect of HPWSs on emotional exhaustion and attenuates the indirect effect of HPWSs on employee performance via emotional exhaustion. This study challenges the prevailing idea that HPWSs can always improve employee performance. It informs HRD researchers and practitioners to dialectically assess the impact of HPWSs and include workplace friendship as an intervention measure to reduce the detrimental outcomes of HPWSs and better promote employee development.

ABSTRACT Inspired by role conceptualisations and calls to rethink and reshape activities and competences of professionally qualified HRD practitioners, we examine HRD’s role and its associated activities through established versions of role theory. We ask: To what extent is there congruence in role expectations of HRD practitioners and other stakeholders? We study this question by interviewing 71 HRD practitioners and non-HRD managers across 16 organisations in three countries (US/UK/NL) and by analysing their responses on HRD role expectations and perceptions, congruences and incongruences. We map our findings on a 2 × 2 matrix and find that only a small number of organisations see professional HRD practitioners as strategic partners; most organisations find themselves within a more operational HRD role definition, or somewhere ‘on the fence’, with mixed ideas of role perceptions. Yet, a few organisations struggle to find alignment on HRD’s strategic aspirations and how those play out in practice. While our findings highlight the progress that HRD practice has made towards strategic partnership, we conclude that many HRD practitioners struggle to gain a seat at the table. We close our paper by discussing implications for HRD practice and scholarship.