Putting the individual and context back into national human resource development research: A systematic review and research agenda

Abstract

Conceptualization of national human resource development (NHRD) emphasizes that it is an ongoing development process of the individual that is shaped by context. However, the extant literature has focused primarily on describing and evaluating NHRD policies and interventions in different countries with limited consideration of NHRD across the lifespan and the interaction of life stage with context. Using ecological systems theory (EST) and a lifespan development perspective (LDP), we present a systematic review of the NHRD literature based on 310 sources. We identify key themes and gaps in research across the lifespan and at distinct levels of the ecological system. We build on this review to suggest future research informed by both EST and an LDP. We propose a future research agenda focused on several key areas, including: the developing individual as the primary focus of NHRD; the dynamic relationship between NHRD microsystems and how this evolves over time; the exosystem and macrosystem, which provide the context of the NHRD development experience for the individual over their lifespan; and the imperatives of directing research attention to top-down and bottom-up influences within the ecological system. We also propose three methodological innovations to address many of the questions raised by our review, drawing on national archive databases, the use of historical methods and a focus on longitudinal data analysis. Finally, we highlight the practical implications of our analysis for ecosystem and microsystem NHRD actors.

Influences of Talent Cultivation and Utilization on the National Human Resource Development System Performance: An International Study Using a Two-Stage Data Envelopment Analysis Model

“…The articles published on NHRD has increased and around 80% of the articles were published in HRD and training and development journals. Very few articles have been published in general management, international business, strategy, and organizational studies journals, indicating that research on NHRD is scarce in these fields [24,26]. According to our knowledge, our study is the first efficiency evaluation study regarding global NHRD systems.…”

“…The ability of a nation to develop human resources will become a competitive advantage for its long-term growth in the future, and this is academically known as national human resource development (NHRD). The definition and composition requirements of NHRD are not easy to determine because, at the national level, there is a complex interactive and dynamic relationship between NHRD and various stakeholders, including the main participants in the implementation of HRD plans, the scope of the activities involved, and specific countries [24][25][26]. Different factors, such as history, social background, and economic development stage, may change the definition and composition requirements of an NHRD; that is, each country has a suitable development of an NHRD system.…”

Editorial: Mapping the Next Phase of Growth for HRDR

“…HRD researchers have significant potential to use cross-cultural management frameworks (e.g., Hofstede, 1980), which are used to explain how values and belief systems affect the way in which employees in organizations experience HRD. I see significant scope for submissions that utilize institutional frameworks including neo-institutional theory (DiMaggio & Powell, 1983), ecosystems theory (Garavan et al, 2019), ecological systems theory (Garavan et al, 2022(Garavan et al, , 2023 and varieties of capitalism (Hall & Soskice, 2001). These perspectives are currently less well represented in HRDR and are excellent for example in theorizing national HRD.…”