Jon M. Werner

Writing books and book chapters offers valuable opportunities to advance one’s academic career, deepen engagement with research agendas, expand professional networks, and make meaningful contributions to the field. The focus on books and book chapters for human resource development scholars is addressed in three different ways: first, citations in the Google Scholar profiles of 52 HRD scholars, as of March 18, 2025, were viewed and analyzed. Journal articles were most highly cited in subsequent research, and yet books and book chapters were cited, with a wide variation in emphases across these scholars. Second, we provided guidance concerning developing and writing book chapters. Third, we reflected as individual authors concerning our motivations for writing books and book chapters, and the outcomes we individually have experienced. This project has revealed a richness and diversity of scholarly impact in HRD, which should be welcomed and nurtured by scholars at all career stages.

Research on burnout has not focused much attention on human resource (HR) professionals, who are often the link between managers and employees. HR professionals have become more integral in organizations’ strategies, processes and protocols. Burnout and lack of both professional and organizational commitment from this group of employees could be detrimental to organizations. This study examines the effects of professional networking and burnout on the organizational and professional commitment of HR professionals, as well as the potential moderating relationship of professional networking on the relationships between job burnout and organizational and professional commitment through professional networking channels such as LinkedIn forums, professional memberships in organizations like the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), or other HR support work groups. A positivist approach using Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) was utilized to examine these relationships, and burnout was significantly and negatively related to both professional and organizational commitment. Further, professional networking had a significant positive influence on the relationship between burnout and commitment, meaning that burnout had a less negative impact on commitment when networking was higher. The results provide insight into factors that assist HR professionals in lessening the effects of burnout, while also increasing organizational and professional commitment.

This study examines the similarity of two unique positions in Hollywood—a costume designer and a production designer. It applies traditional job analysis and job evaluation methods in an industry with little history of doing so. Job data from interviews, questionnaires, and secondary sources were content analyzed for themes and categories. Quantitative data were collected and analyzed for supplemental evidence in comparing the similarity of the two positions. The study incorporated criteria from the California Fair Pay Act of 2016 in the assessment. Eight subject matter experts (SMEs) provided both narrative and quantitative data in response to the comprehensive job analysis. The results of the study show that these positions are sufficiently similar according to the criteria set forth in the California Fair Pay Act, raising issues concerning observed pay disparities between these positions. The findings also support the use of traditional methods of human resource management and industrial and organizational psychology in novel industries with unique positions. Finally, conclusions, limitations and implications are considered.

Academic integrity is addressed, with a particular focus on the field of human resource development. Academic integrity can be connected to ideal values such as honesty, trust, fairness, respect, responsibility, and courage. Key sources pertaining to academic integrity are presented, along with “areas of concern” highlighted by recent research. Some of the available resources pertaining to academic integrity are listed, along with a final call to action, including a call to “integrous living.”

The abundance of technological and Internet resources can both simplify and complicate a researcher's world. Such innovations place a burden on researchers to stay current with advances in technology and then discern the best technology tools to utilize. We first discuss benefits that Google Scholar can provide in the preparation of the literature review, which is vital to developing rigorous studies. We also discuss ways to use Google Scholar for the dissemination of one's research. This article follows the Writer's Forum article by Campuzano, Storberg–Walker, and Werner (2017) concerning methods to promote one's research using social media.

It is encouraging to see the diversity of sources cited in the top introductory textbooks in industrial-organizational (I-O) psychology. It is not surprising that the Journal of Applied Psychology (JAP) and Personnel Psychology are off the charts in terms of the two most-cited sources in these six textbooks. However, I would not have expected that in these books, “77% of the top-cited articles were published in cross-disciplinary journals” (Aguinis et al., 2017, p. 507). I wish to build on Aguinis et al. (2017), with a focus on the relationship between I-O psychology and human resource development (HRD). I am the author of an HRD textbook (Werner, 2017a). The journal I co-edit, Human Resource Development Quarterly, is one of those “cross-disciplinary journals” on Aguinis et al.’s list of most-cited sources (56th out of 110, 40th in academic journals), with 16 citations. Finally, my article on legal issues in performance appraisal was cited in five of the six textbooks (Werner & Bolino, 1997).

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyze the extant human resource development (HRD) definition research literature and theorizes a new definition of HRD. Design/methodology/approach: The authors adopted keyword and content analyses to examine selected 32 HRD definitions in relation to different organizational and sociopolitical contexts base on theory development criteria and methodology for definition research. Findings: From a theoretical perspective, the extant definitions were mostly empirical descriptions of HRD practice with conceptualization being absent. From a context perspective, the definitions were based on HRD phenomena indigenous to the western world, especially the USA and Western Europe. They can hardly explain HRD phenomena in a non-western context. The glaring gaps lead to theorizing a new definition by focusing on the hard core of HRD in defining and criterial attributes. The defining attribute of HRD is its host-system-dependence, and the criterial attributes are its shaping and skilling mechanisms. Research limitations/implications: This study unveils that HRD is a means to support the ends defined by the corresponding host system, and not an end in itself. This definition is applicable to different sociopolitical, cultural, and organizational contexts. It provides clear criteria and boundaries to gauge the relevance of HRD research and shows the unique identity of HRD, thus offering new directions to expand the landscape of HRD research. Practical implications: The new definition can help human resources practitioners better understand the role and mechanism of HRD that the worldwide practitioners can resonate in various sociocultural and political contexts. Communicating the definition and goals of HRD will enhance internal clients’ understanding and appreciation of the value of HRD. Originality/value: This study fills important research gaps in HRD definition research. It is the first HRD definition derived through a rigorous theory development process. The new definition connects the HRD research niche to the general human resource literature and lead to new HRD research.