Purpose: This paper seeks to address the recent challenges in the international human resource development (HRD) research and the related methodological strategy. Design/methodology/approach: This inquiry is based on a survey of literatures and integrates various comparative research strategies adopted in other major social science disciplines.…

This study explores the corporate university (CU) phenomenon based on human capital theory through a comprehensive review of literatures in economics and HRD (human resource development). Different from existing CU literature, the study found that, as HRD operational entities, CUs and traditional universities are rooted in different skills…

This article focuses on the areas agreement between two recent and seemingly disparate Human Resource Development Review articles by Wang and Swanson (2008) and McLean, Lynham, Azevedo, Lawrence, and Nafukho (2008). The foundational roles of economics in human resource development theory and practice are highlighted as well as the need for…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyze a new research topic, national human resource development (NHRD) for neglected but critical components of economics foundation and accumulated international development research and practices. Design/methodology/approach: Through a targeted literature review on NHRD writing, major development…

Recent human resource development (HRD) literature focuses attention on national HRD (NHRD) research and represents problems in both HRD identity and research methodology. Based on a review of development economics and international development literature, this study analyzes the existing NHRD literature with respect to the theory development…

This article fills a gap by identifying an under-studied area for learning participation (LP) in HRD theory building. A literature review is presented to identify gaps in adult education and HRD literature. An HRD LP framework is then proposed, from cross-sectional/time-series perspectives, to describe the pattern, factors, structure, and the…

This phenomenological study explores critical issues related to participation in human resource development (HRD) interventions. Specifically focusing on master of business administration (M.B.A.) training programs in China, we conducted in-depth individual interviews with twelve middle-level managers to understand their perceptions and experience…

This study offers empirical evidence in HRD e-learning completion. Based on the Learning Participation Theory (LPT) (Wang & Wang, 2004), a study was conducted with U.S. corporate e-learners to explore the determinants of e-learning completion. The results generally confirmed the hypothesis by the LPT that individual, learning process, and…

In an effort to more comprehensively understand economics as a foundation of human resource development (HRD), this article reviews economic theories and models pertinent to HRD research and theory building. By examining neoclassical and neoinstitutional schools of contemporary economics, especially the screening model and the internal labor…

To advance an emerging frontier in human resource development (HRD) research, national HRD (NHRD), this study explored the subject by focusing on a key area of HRD, management development (MD) in the China context. Taking a system and holistic perspective, the study identified three critical challenges facing Chinese managers and China MD in the…

This article fills a theoretical gap by identifying an understudied subject area for human resource development (HRD) theory building, learning participation of HRD interventions in organizations. The topic has critical significance in current HRD practices, such as concerns on e-learning dropout rates and HRD measurement and evaluation. First, a…