Human resources under technological transformation: what HR professionals believe in an international scale
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/ER-06-2021-0244 |
| Published date | 23 August 2022 |
| Date | 23 August 2022 |
| Pages | 172-189 |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour,Industrial/labour relations,Employment law |
| Author | Konstantinos Mantzaris,Barbara Myloni |
Human resources under
technological transformation:
what HR professionals believe in
an international scale
Konstantinos Mantzaris and Barbara Myloni
Department of Business Administration, University of Patras, Patras, Greece
Abstract
Purpose –This paper examines the beliefs of human resource professionals (HRPs) regarding the impact of
Industry 4.0 on organizations in terms of readiness for human resources management (HRM) transformation,
the challenges of a potential new legal and financial framework, the new means on performance management
and automation, and finally the decision-making process in the era of human-machine cooperation.
Design/methodology/approach –The authors analyzed a sample of 251 HRPs from 11 different countries
divided into 4 cultural clusters to explore their attitude to incorporate new practices to the HR field because of
technological development. The paper explores HRPs’beliefs in a legal and financial context, performance
management issues, and the impact of automation on the decision-making process. Furthermore, the authors
perform a cross-cultural comparison analysis to examine potential significant differences between cultural
clusters.
Findings –HRPs are aware of how technology adoption is affecting work environment and they highlight the
importance of human resources (HR) for businesses, despite the global trend of extensive machinery
exploitation. Intere stingly, our results sugg est that overall globaliz ation, common knowledg e, and
internationalized practices lead to homogeneity for most issues under study.
Originality/value –To the best of the authors’knowledge, there has not been any comprehensive study
exploring and analyzing the effects of Industry 4.0 on HRPs perceptions in the context of a dynamic HR
environment influenced by technological transformation. The study shows that HRPs’present similar
perspectives for most issues addressed, irrespective of cultural characteristics of HRPs. Hence, this paper
generates some important insights in an attempt to build a framework for enhancing HR in this new era.
Keywords Human resources, HR, HRM, Industry 4.0, Cross-cultural, HRPs
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
The field of human resources management (HRM) is experiencing a plethora of challenges
and numerous pressures for change (Stone and Deadrick, 2015). These unprecedented
transformations have led to the use of machines instead of human workers, as they can be
more competent of achieving organizational goals. Human resources (HR) are in the early
stages of utilizing the potential of the fourth industrial revolution. In particular, this era is
characterized by a fusion of technologies with vague boundaries between physical, digital,
and biological spheres (Schwab, 2016); hence, its impact on the HRM department is critical for
the sustainability of an organization, while attempting to maintain a competitive position in
the market. At the same time, discussion regarding the Industry 5.0 is already taking place,
considering an environment where robots are intertwined with the human brain and work
collaboratively instead of competitively (Nahavandi, 2019).
A globalized business environment and competition imply that an organization must be
competitive on a global scale to defeat the competitor through a faster response to rapidly
changing environments. However, the adoption of new technologies is accompanied by a
dramatic change in human resource management policies and work environment (Siegel et al.,
1997). The automation process spreads to areas typically identified as non-routine operations
(Frey and Osborne, 2016). Thus, human resource professionals need to reassess the needs of a
ER
45,1
172
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
https://www.emerald.com/insight/0142-5455.htm
Received 10 June 2021
Revised 16 May 2022
10 August 2022
Accepted 11 August 2022
Employee Relations: The
International Journal
Vol. 45 No. 1, 2023
pp. 172-189
© Emerald Publishing Limited
0142-5455
DOI 10.1108/ER-06-2021-0244
future business and foster new approaches to HR functions considering the great impact of
technology on them (Gardner et al., 2003;Bondarouk and Brewster, 2016).
Indeed, we are currently facing a period in which technological disruptions in various
business sectors are already visible. In the fourth industrial revolution, the challenge is how
organizations can motivate their knowledge workers to release their human potential (Xu
et al., 2018). The new feature of this technological era is that not only muscle but also brain
work will be replaced by robots as it is not only technological feasible but also cost-efficient
(B€
uhrer and Hagist, 2017). This means that the HRM department should apply new methods
for machine exploitation and at the same time distribute important job roles and wealth to
human employees, such as making employees more creative and innovative (Shamim
et al., 2016).
This paper aims to examine the beliefs of HR professionals (HRPs) to some of the most
important issues in HRM. The purpose of this paper is to explore the level of readiness for
HRM transformation, the new rules that have the potential to enhance HR in terms of a legal
and financial framework, whether machines present advantages compared to HR in the
context of performance management and automation, and finally the decision-making
process in the era of human-machine cooperation. Data analysis provides useful insights
about HRPs perceptions on the existence and developments of the human resource
management department on critical issues such as the value of the human factor in the future
business and its readiness for HRM transformation.
Theory and hypothesis
The fourth industrial revolution and its potential to disrupt labor markets outline the future
of HR. Automation since the 1970s has raised concerns such as the development of
technological unemployment, which Keynes described as a disease of the future in 1930
(Keynes, 1931). The rapid pace of technological development slows down the ability of a
human worker to adopt new theories and knowledge and extends the time it takes to apply
them in practice. At the same time, human work is relatively resistant to its substitution by
learning algorithms (such as artificial intelligence, AI, and machine learning, ML) or robotics.
This is because in some complex tasks a human specialist adds meaning in the process or the
outcome, as it is deeply intertwined with the human experience of meaningfulness
(Nokelainen et al., 2018), for instance, the process of ethical decision-making, for which
decisions contribute to the meaningful end of the activity.
The timescale of these dramatic changes in the globalized business environment varies.
Researchers predict that AI-based technologies will outperform humans in many activities in
the next years and in coming decades (Grace et al., 2018). Even in the past, estimations
predicted that artificial intelligence would be equal and/or surpass human mental abilities by
2030 (Nilsson, 1984). Although no one can predict exactly when things will happen, it is
certain that technology will shape our future and the HRM process in many respects.
Globalization and technological progress in the fourth industrial revolution pose distinct
challenges both at an economic/business and a social/employee level. Businesses have been
profoundly transformed by rapid technological developments. Within the digital
transformation of business models, technologies are used to generate new applications or
services (Schallmo and Williams, 2018). Concurrently, even if we agree that this new era
promises great opportunities in terms of welfare and social well-being in the long run, it also
poses significant challenges during the initial transition period. The risk of change is likely to
be unevenly borne by various social and employee groups, increasing the possibilities of
declining employment and wage growth in almost all industries and regions.
As automation is upgrading all business sectors, employees are expected to adopt and
implement innovative technology applications to improve productivity and efficiency in the
Beliefs of HR
professionals
173
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