Sustainable Organization through a Prism of Human Capital

Dear Colleagues,

To adapt to a rapidly changing environment and remain sustainable, organizations need to reconcile innovation and organizational management decisions. Such a two-way perspective highlights the importance of human capital and increases the role of human resource management. The pandemic has moved organizations into the future within a few months in the direction of virtual work and it seems that this arrangement is here to stay. In the future, when employees return to their normal workplaces, organizations will have to manage the pandemic-driven altered attitudes and needs of their employees toward work organization, and thus organizations will have to adapt the practices and processes to the “new normal”. One thing is for sure, the world of work after the pandemic will not be the same as before, and human capital’s role in strengthening the sustainability of organizations in the post-pandemic era will be central. Thus, organizations should rethink their management strategies to perform effectively during the pandemic and to prepare for the future.

The aim of this Special Issue is to collect original research papers and literature reviews about interesting aspects of sustainability in organizational management through the prism of human capital. Primary topics are listed below but the list should not limit researchers. We call on authors to explore sustainability in organizational management at all scales.

A Post-Pandemic Workplace

COVID-19 has changed the workplace irreversibly. The fast adaptation of organizations to remote work has become a critical component of resilience and sustainability in the face of the pandemic. Human resource leaders will have to reflect on a variety of pandemic-driven challenges such as implementing more flexible work arrangements (office work, work from home or hybrid), creating new engagement means for remote workers in the era of social distancing, efficient ways of leading virtual teams, sustaining organizational culture in an “empty“ office, etc.  Moreover, leaders should find solutions to raise employee consciousness to increase collaboration with the aim of adapting more easily to changing socioeconomic environments and market conditions. It is expected for organizations to rethink their approaches and change their human resource management practices to be more “employee-friendly” and keep their workers engaged, motivated, and ore committed to the workplace.

Employee Health and Wellbeing

Aiming to promote the sustainability of organizations, it is crucial to take care of the health of employees and handle occupational risks. Employee health and wellbeing issues are even more relevant during the COVID-19 pandemic while stress levels are increasing; however, access to a healthy lifestyle should be constrained.

Sustainable Career Management

Emerging and declining jobs due to the shifts in the division of labor between humans and machines, growing work intensification and uncertainty, and blurring boundaries between work and personal life are the new realities for the modern workforce. Business organizations are experiencing growing pressure in dealing not only with physical sustainability (for instance, planet saving) but also human or social sustainability, i.e., preserving and supporting the growth and development of human resources.  As a result, sustainability perspectives in career management are gaining momentum in the scientific literature.  This refers to the continuity of career experience over time, which provides meaning, learning, and development opportunities to an individual. According to the World Economic Forum (2020), 85 million jobs may be displaced by 2025 while 97 million new roles may emerge. This means a growing need for workforce upskilling and reskilling. Moreover, the youngest generations in the labor market, generation Z and millennials, expect a more sustainable attitude toward their career in terms of work–life balance, flexible working hours, and development opportunities.

Organizational Resilience

Shocks and unpredictable circumstances have required managers to oversee strategies to strengthen organizational resilience with the aim of reducing negative impacts and surviving in the long run. Researchers are called to collect evidence on organizational resilience for sustainability in the business, public, and non-government sectors.

Collaborative Networks and Digital Business Models

The spread of a digital collaboration environment and socio-technical networks of individuals, organizations and technologies fostered the transition of many traditional businesses towards networked digital platforms. More and more organizations promote digital performance and progress towards productivity based on co-creation and digitalization in many countries. This confirms the success of the ongoing 4th industrial revolution and demonstrates the growing need for innovative sustainable business models. On the other hand, features of self-organization, self-evolvement, and symbiosis create constant instability for organization and a possibility for information and resource asymmetry, which causes additional pressure to achieve sustainable management, network supervisors, and incumbents. Thus, the integration of new information and communication technologies and the digital entrepreneurship approach could provide new operational capabilities for small and medium-sized organizations to compete in global markets. In this light, it is important to find an answer as to how digital business models can contribute to the sustainable management of modern organizations.

References & Relevant readings:

AlQershi, N. (2021). Strategic thinking, strategic planning, strategic innovation and the performance of SMEs: The mediating role of human capital. Management Science Letters , 11(3), 1003-1012

Ardebili A.A., Padoano E. (2020). „A Literature Review of the Concepts of Resilience and Sustainability in Group Decision-Making“. Sustainability, 12(7):2602, Doi:10.3390/su12072602

Autio, E., Szerb, L., Komlósi, E.and Tiszberger, M. (2019) EIDES 2019 - The European Index of Digital Entrepreneurship Systems, EUR 29892 EN, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg. ISBN 978-92-76-12269-2, DOI:10.2760/107900, JRC117495.

Bouza, E., Gil-Monte, P.R., Palomo, E. (2020). Síndrome de quemarse por el trabajo (burnout) en los médicos de España, Revista Clínica Española,  220(6), 359-363

Callanan, G.A., Perri, D.F., & Tomkowicz, S.M. (2017). Career Management in Uncertain Times: Challenges and Opportunities. Career Development Quarterly, 65, 353-365.

Camarinha-Matos, L.M.; Fornasiero, R.; Ramezani, J. and Ferrada, F. (2019) Collaborative Networks: A Pillar of Digital Transformation. Appl. Sci, 9, 5431. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/app9245431

Channa N.A., Shah S.M.M., Ghumro N.H. (2019). „Uncovering the Link between Strategic Human Resource Management and Crisis Management: Mediating Role of Organizational Resilience“. Annals of Contemporary Developments in Management & HR (ACDMHR). Vol. 1, No. 2, p.p. 15-27. DOI: 10.33166/ACDMHR.2019.02.003

Gečienė J. (2020). „Management of social service organizations and factors of resilience during the extreme situation“. Contemporary Research on Organization Management and Administration, 8(1), 71– 80. doi.org/10.33605/croma-012020-006

Hillmann J., Guenther E. (2021). „Organizational Resilience: A Valuable Construct for Management Research?“. International Journal of Management Reviews, 23, 7–44. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijmr.12239

Kainzbauer, A.; Rungruang, P. Science Mapping the Knowledge Base on Sustainable Human Resource Management, 1982–2019. Sustainability 2019, 11, 3938. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11143938

Kay, A.A., Skarlicki, D.P. (2020). Cultivating a conflict-positive workplace: How mindfulness facilitates constructive conflict management, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 159,8-20,https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2020.02.005.

Kniffin, K. M., Narayanan, J., Anseel, F., Antonakis, J., Ashford, S. P., Bakker, A. B., . . . Vugt, M. v. (2021). COVID-19 and the workplace: Implications, issues, and insights for future research and action. American Psychologist, 76(1), 63-77. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/amp0000716

Li, J., Ghosh, R. & Nachmias, S. (2020) A Special Issue on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on work, worker, and workplace!? Implications for HRD research and practices in time of crisis, Human Resource Development International, 23:4, 329-332, DOI: 10.1080/13678868.2020.1780715

Li, Y.; Li, X.; Chen, Q.; Xue, Y. Sustainable Career Development of Newly Hired Executives—A Dynamic Process Perspective. Sustainability 2020, 12, 3175. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12083175

Mamaysky, I., The Future of Work: Exploring the Post-Pandemic Workplace from an Employment Law and Human Resources Perspective (January 19, 2021). UC Davis Business Law Journal, Forthcoming, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3769366 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3769366

Mitsakis F.V. (2020). „Human resource development (HRD) resilience: a new ‘success element’ of organizational resilience?“. Human Resource Development International. 23(3), 321–328. DOI:10.1080/13678868.2019.1669385

Sánchez-Hernández, M.I.; González-López, Ó.R.; Buenadicha-Mateos, M.; Tato-Jiménez, J.L. Work–life Balance in Great Companies and Pending Issues for Engaging New Generations at Work. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16, 5122. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16245122

Sanchis, R., Canetta,  L., Poler, R. (2020). „A Conceptual Reference Framework for Enterprise Resilience Enhancement“. Sustainability, 12(4), 1464. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12041464

Satalkina, L. and Steiner, G. (2020). Digital Entrepreneurship and its Role in Innovation Systems: A Systematic Literature Review as a Basis for Future Research Avenues for Sustainable Transitions. Sustainability, 12, 2764. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su12072764

Scavarda, A.; Daú, G.; Scavarda, L.F.; Goyannes Gusmão Caiado, R. An Analysis of the Corporate Social Responsibility and the Industry 4.0 with Focus on the Youth Generation: A Sustainable Human Resource Management Framework. Sustainability 2019, 11, 5130. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11185130

Senyo, P. K., Liu, K. and Effah, J. (2019). Digital business ecosystem: Literature review and a framework for future research. International Journal of Information Management, 47: 52-64.DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2019.01.002

The Future of Jobs Reports, 2020, Worlds Economic Forum. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Future_of_Jobs_2020.pdf

Turkina, E. (2018) The importance of networking to entrepreneurship:Montreal's artificial intelligence cluster and its born-global firm Element AI. Journal of Small Business & Entrepreneurship, 30:1, 1-8, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/08276331.2017.1402154

Vagni, M.; Giostra, V.; Maiorano, T.; Santaniello, G.; Pajardi, D. Personal Accomplishment and Hardiness in Reducing Emergency Stress and Burnout among COVID-19 Emergency Workers. Sustainability 2020, 12, 9071. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12219071

Prof. Dr. Agota Giedrė Raišienė
Guest Editor

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