Leadership and Human Resource Management in Sustainable Economic Development

Dear Colleagues,

Both theory and practice suggest that the devolution of HRM leadership to line managers and other parts of an organization is, by its nature, a challenging and complicated process that requires a well-designed and coordinated course of action, as well as effective strategies (Kainzbauer and Rungruang, 2019). Such strategies should focus, among other things, on operations, enable the contextualization of each case, and aim at sustained outcomes (Ambituuni et al., 2021). Without underestimating the merits of HRM leadership devolution and evolution towards economic sustainability, we estimate problems and discrepancies that warrant attention. Such examples include, but are not limited to, the lack of ownership that the HRM department might feel during and after the devolution process (e.g., Blayney et al., 2020), the potential bureaucracy of the devolution process that disables the expected sustained outcomes (e.g., Ambituuni et al., 2021), and/or the structure, the size, and the context in which an organization operates (Ren and Jackson, 2020).

To shed light on the sustainable challenges faced by organizations, regardless of their size and the sector of their operation, this Special Issue focuses on HRM leadership devolution and evolution within various national and international regions and contexts as both antecedents to and enablers of economic sustainability and other sustained outcomes.

By reviewing the existing literature, we may acquire a solid and thorough understanding of the importance of leadership, HRM devolution, as well as evolution, within various contexts and units of analyses (He et al., 2019; Kurdi‐Nakra et al., 2022; Podgorodnichenko et al., 2020). At the same time, we may also consult both evidence-based research and conceptual models on the absolute necessity of sustainability within various national and international regions and contexts. Despite such rich research outcomes and knowledge, there is still no solid discourse on the antecedents, peculiarities, variables, and factors affecting the relationship between HRM leadership devolution, evolution, and sustainable economic development.

Therefore, we seek contributions, both empirical and conceptual, to expand economic sustainability by treating the evolution and devolution of HRM leadership not only as antecedents to and enablers of economic sustainability, but also as critical factors in addressing challenges to sustainability.

Thus, this Special Issue aims to explore how HRM leadership devolution and evolution achieve economic sustainability and address challenges to sustainability, with particular references to the types of leadership and sustainable outcomes.

Some research questions can link to the following:

• Which leadership style is critical in achieving economic sustainability and addressing challenges to sustainability and development within specific organizational contexts (e.g., multinational corporations, SMEs, NGOs)?
• How and to what extent does HRM leadership affect organizational sustainability?
• What are the required variables enabling HRM leadership to achieve sustainable economic outcomes outside of organizations’ regions?
• How and under what conditions does HRM devolution take place, aiming at economic sustainability?
• How and to what extent do different stakeholders affect HRM leadership evolution?
• How and to what extent do public policies affect HRM leadership to achieve economic sustainability?
• Which skills and abilities are critical for HR leaders in addressing economic and other sustainability challenges?
• What is the impact of national stakeholders on HRM leadership devolution and evolution?
• What HRM practices promote HRM leadership devolution?
• How and to what extent does knowledge sharing affect HRM devolution and to what extent could such devolution be sustainable?
• Which HRM strategies should organizations form to achieve sustainable sustained economic outcomes?

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Evangelia Siachou
Prof. Dr. Demetris Vrontis
Guest Editors

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• leadership
• economic sustainability
• HRM devolution
• sustainability