Evidence‐based HRM: a scholarship perspective with a difference
| Date | 26 April 2013 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/20493981311318584 |
| Pages | 4-15 |
| Published date | 26 April 2013 |
| Author | Thomas Lange |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour |
Evidence-based HRM:
a scholarship perspective
with a difference
Thomas Lange
Middlesex University Business School, Middlesex University, London,
UK and Curtin Business School, Curtin University, Perth, Australia
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide an introduction to the new jour nal, its inspirations,
scope and ambitions.
Design/methodology/approach – The paper reviews selected strands of the literatu re on evidence-
based scholarship and discusses some of the observations and remedial recommendations made in the
literature to bring research, policy and practice closer together.
Findings – Drawing on these observations and recommendations, the paper highlights the roles our
authors and their published works can play when contributing to an evidence-based HR research
agenda. Building on these insights, the paper arrives at the jour nal’s editorial vision and encourages
the production of scholarly empirical research articles that have a high impact on the HR field as a
whole. Embracing the richness of contributions from multiple disciplines and supporting a thematic
diversity in the international HR arena, the paper introduces and explains the core principles EBHRM
strives to encourage and promote: empirical robustness, analytical rigour and practical significance.
Originality/value – In the spirit of these arguments, the paper makes the case for taking
on the challenge of moving scholarship, policy and practice closer together and introduces
the first contributions.
Keywords Evidence-based HRM, Empirical evidence, Multi-disciplinary research,
International scholarship, Implications for policy and practice , Human resource management,
Evidence, Evidence-based practice
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
It is unremarkable to state that there is a considerable gap between research and
practice in many areas of management. Whilst the realisation remains disappointing,
it hardly qualifies as a new insight. For several decades, the extant literature lamented
the discrepancy between findings and recommendations in scholarship and the
rather limited take-up of these recommendations by practitioners and policy makers
(e.g. Campbell et al., 1982; Hambrick, 1994; Pfeffer and Sutton, 1999; Lawler, 2007). This
observation holds true for numerous academic discipl ines in management and beyond,
and applies equally to research endeavours in the human resources (HR) arena. From a
practitioner perspective, it is frequently argued that scholars in the HR domain produce
research that is “abstract and inconsequential; research often fails to address the
practical issues of improving workforce performance and maintaining employee well-
being, and is inadequate as a source of guidance” (Gelade, 2006, p. 153). Lawler (2007,
p. 1035) adds that “academic journals are full of articles that may score high on rigor
and relevance to theory but all too often score poorly on informing practice”.
With this in mind, will the launch of a new scholarly journal in the field fully
eradicate this gap? The answer is unlikely to be in the affirmative. That said, we
cannot abdicate from our responsibility to try and bring sc holarship and practice
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/2049-3983.htm
Evidence-based HRM: A Global
Forum for Empirical Scholarship
Vol. 1 No. 1, 2013
pp. 4-15
rEmeraldGroup PublishingLimited
2049-3983
DOI 10.1108/20493981311318584
4
EBHRM
1,1
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