Industry 4.0, digital transformation and human resource management: Emerging themes and research trends in the context of the Visegrad countries

Abstract

Research background: The existing literature provides an incomplete approach to understanding the implications of Industry 4.0 for HRM development. Digitalisation has been shown to influence HR practices and the role of HR managers in various aspects of business operations. Purpose of the article: The aim of this research is threefold: (i) to identify the main themes and sub-themes discussed that have been under consideration by scholars since 2011; (ii) to analyse the research designs and research methods used; (iii) to propose a future research agenda for this field, all with the focus on research development in the Visegrad countries. Methods: In this research, a systematic literature review (SLR) using bibliometric analysis through the VOSviewer software, complemented with a thematic analysis, considered 112 articles obtained from the Web of Science (core collection) related to the topic of Industry 4.0 (digital transformation) and human resource management. The results reveal that human resource management is a significant phenomenon in supporting digital transformation. By using bibliometric analysis of the retrieved literature, using the standard created by the PRISMA group, it was possible to uncover the main statistical characteristics of published authors and cooperation networks in this area. Findings & value added: The results of the analyses show that the main themes of the research are HR trends in the Industry 4.0 era, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on HR, employee expectations related to the current development of technologies in Industry 4.0, sustainable HRM practices, development of digital competencies, soft and hard skills, the impact of digitalisation on organisational culture, leadership styles and the environment for innovation. From the research design perspective, quantitative research based on empirical data dominates. Overall, this research contributes to the existing literature by providing a comprehensive overview of the research landscape of digital transformation and human resource development while outlining future research directions.