Human resources under technological transformation: what HR professionals believe in an international scale

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. Interestingly, our results suggest that overall globalization, common knowledge, 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.

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