Research in Personnel and Human Resources Management

Overview

Research in Personnel and Human Resources Management (RPHR) is a leading annual edited-volume series published by Emerald Publishing Limited, devoted to cutting-edge scholarship in human resource management and organizational behaviour. Identified by ISSN 0742-7301 and the series DOI 10.1108/rphr, the series has been a fixture of the HRM research landscape since its volumes began appearing on Emerald's platform in 1999, with roots stretching further back through earlier publishing imprints. Each year the series delivers a curated volume of long-form chapters by top scholars — work that is strongly theoretical and empirical in character and that addresses the questions HRM researchers, educators, and practitioners actually wrestle with.

The series occupies a distinctive position between journals and monographs. Its chapters are longer and more discursive than journal articles, allowing authors to develop frameworks, synthesize two decades of literature, or report programmatic multi-study research in a single piece. At the same time, each volume is tightly organized around the HRM domain, so a volume functions as a state-of-the-art review of where the field stands and where it is heading. Topics regularly covered include leadership, compensation systems, diversity and inclusion, artificial intelligence and technology at work, workforce trends, employee well-being, and the strategic role of HRM — a breadth that mirrors the expanding remit of the HRM discipline itself.

Editorial leadership of the series is in the hands of four established HRM scholars: M. Ronald Buckley (University of Oklahoma), Anthony R. Wheeler (Widener University), John E. Baur (University of Nevada, Las Vegas), and Jonathon R. B. Halbesleben (University of Texas at San Antonio). Their collective stewardship gives the series both scholarly credibility and practical relevance, and their own introductory chapter to Volume 42 — a reflective essay on forty volumes of the series — articulates the mission they have carried forward: publishing impactful contributions that move the science and practice of personnel and human resources management ahead.

For the research community, RPHR is what its publisher calls it: an essential resource. Doctoral students use its chapters as entry points into literatures; established scholars use it to stake out new theoretical territory; and HR practitioners and educators draw on its syntheses to connect research evidence with management practice. The series' longevity — more than forty volumes — testifies to a durable formula: invite the best scholars, give them room to write at length, and hold the work to high scholarly standards.

Aims and Scope

The aim of Research in Personnel and Human Resources Management is to showcase the most important developing ideas in HRM research, in a format that does justice to their complexity. The series' scope spans the full range of personnel and human resources management as an academic field: staffing and selection, training and development, performance management, compensation and rewards, employee relations, strategic HRM, international and cross-cultural HRM, and the rapidly growing interfaces between HRM and technology, diversity, and well-being.

What distinguishes the series' scope is its dual commitment to theoretical depth and empirical grounding. Chapters are expected to do more than summarize; the strongest contributions build or refine theory, integrate fragmented findings into coherent frameworks, or open genuinely new lines of inquiry. Recent volumes illustrate this ambition. Volume 42 (2024) includes a provocative assessment of the state of personnel and HRM science by Martin Götz and Ernest H. O'Boyle, a 20-year overview and integrated model of human resource process research by Karin Sanders, Rebecca Hewett, and Huadong Yang, and a forward-looking treatment of work–life flexibility policies through an intersectionality lens by Ellen Ernst Kossek and colleagues — each chapter substantial enough to anchor a research programme.

The series also tracks the field's response to real-world change. Its pages have addressed the gig economy and digital labour platforms (Kristine M. Kuhn, Jeroen Meijerink, and Anne Keegan), the workforce entry of Generation Z in the wake of the global pandemic (Frances M. McKee-Ryan), HRM challenges for immigrant and refugee employees, and the implications of artificial intelligence for HRM — evidence that the editors actively commission work on emerging phenomena rather than merely consolidating established topics.

Geographically and methodologically, the series is pluralist. Chapters draw on quantitative, qualitative, and conceptual methods, and authors are based at universities across North America, Europe, Asia, and beyond — reflecting HRM's status as a genuinely international discipline. The series does not restrict itself to a single paradigm; micro and macro perspectives, psychological and sociological lenses, and critical as well as mainstream approaches all find space, provided the work meets the series' standards of rigour and significance.

Publication Details

Research in Personnel and Human Resources Management is published as a book series: each annual volume is a book in its own right, with print, online, and ePub ISBNs alongside the series ISSN, and each chapter receives an individual DOI. Libraries acquire volumes through Emerald's eBook collections, and chapters are available individually through Emerald's platform. The series' earlier volumes appeared under previous publishing imprints — the chapter DOIs of Volume 19 (2000), for example, carry the prefix associated with JAI Press — before the series consolidated under Emerald, where it has been published for more than two decades.

Because the series is annual and volume-numbered, citation practice matters: always cite the chapter authors, chapter title, volume number and volume year, the series title, and the publisher. The series' consistent numbering (Volume 42 appeared in 2024) makes the backlist easy to navigate, and Emerald's platform provides full tables of contents, abstracts, and citation-export tools for every volume.

Editorial Leadership

The series is edited by a team of four scholars whose own research has shaped modern HRM. M. Ronald Buckley, long associated with the University of Oklahoma, is among the most published researchers in management, known for work spanning performance appraisal, decision-making, and research methods. Anthony R. Wheeler of Widener University researches HRM systems, turnover, and the employee–organization relationship. John E. Baur of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas works on leadership, organizational behaviour, and HRM. Jonathon R. B. Halbesleben of the University of Texas at San Antonio is widely cited for research on work engagement, burnout, and employee well-being.

This editorial team took the series into its fifth decade with an explicit statement of mission. Their co-authored opening chapter to Volume 42, Forty Volumes of Research in Personnel and Human Resources Management: Reflecting on Impactful Contributions and Continuing Our Mission Into the Future, looks back over the series' history to identify the contributions that most influenced the field — and forward to the challenges HRM science must confront, from artificial intelligence to the changing nature of employment relationships. That a series' editors would devote a chapter to critical self-assessment says something important about the intellectual seriousness with which the series is run. The anniversary chapter does not merely celebrate; it asks which kinds of contributions actually moved the field — the integrative reviews that reorganized how scholars thought about a topic, the theoretical statements that launched new research streams, and the methodologically innovative pieces that showed how HRM questions could be asked differently. This reflective stance is characteristic of the series as a whole: it treats HRM not as a settled toolkit of practices but as a living science whose assumptions deserve periodic, searching examination.

Volume editors work with the series editors to assemble each year's contents, and the contributor lists read as a who's who of HRM scholarship: established names alongside rising scholars, with chapters frequently co-authored across institutions and countries. The result is a series that functions partly as an honour roll of the field and partly as its research frontier.

Volume History and Landmark Contributions

Across more than forty volumes, the series has chronicled the transformation of personnel management into strategic human resource management and, more recently, into a discipline grappling with technology, precarity, and well-being. A tour of selected volumes shows the pattern.

Volume 19 (2000) captures the field at the turn of the millennium, with chapters on contextual performance and teamwork by Jeffrey A. LePine, Mary Ann Hanson, Walter C. Borman, and Stephan J. Motowidlo, and on strategic global HRM in emerging markets by Michael G. Harvey, M. Ronald Buckley, and Milorad M. Novicevic — themes (teamwork, globalization) that would only grow in importance.

Volume 41 reads as a map of HRM's 2020s preoccupations: HRM and the gig economy at the intersection of organizational decision-makers and digital labour platforms; a 20-year review of pay-dispersion research by Jason D. Shaw and Xiang Zhou; personnel responses to organizational politics in economically challenged environments; Generation Z's workforce entry during and after the pandemic; network structures of influence and their HRM implications; HRM in family firms; the challenges facing immigrant employees; and a systemic view of the refugee employment journey. Few single publications survey the field's breadth so efficiently.

Volume 42 (2024), the fortieth-anniversary volume, pairs retrospection with provocation: alongside the editors' forty-volume reflection, it includes Götz and O'Boyle's searching critique of the state of personnel and HRM science, systematic reviews of self-initiated expatriate retention, a new theory of professional touching behaviour in organizations, a 20-year synthesis of HR process research, and Kossek and colleagues' intersectional reframing of work–life flexibility policies. It is a fitting demonstration of what the series does best — long-form, field-defining scholarship.

Indexing and Abstracting

As an edited-volume series, RPHR is indexed through book and chapter channels rather than journal article databases alone. Each chapter's DOI is registered with Crossref, supporting citation tracking in Google Scholar, Scopus, and Web of Science where the citing and cited works are covered. The series is held by research libraries worldwide, with British Library catalogue records for its volumes, and its full text is searchable through Emerald's platform and major library discovery systems.

For authors, the practical implication is that chapters in the series are fully citable scholarly outputs: they appear in reference lists, accrue citations tracked by scholarly indexes, and count as peer-reviewed publications in academic performance reviews. The series' visibility is further amplified by the prominence of its contributors, whose chapters are frequently cited in subsequent journal articles and review papers.

Metrics and Standing

Research in Personnel and Human Resources Management does not carry a Journal Impact Factor, because it is a book series rather than a Clarivate-indexed journal — readers should treat any "impact factor" quoted for it with scepticism. Its standing rests instead on qualitative indicators that are harder to game: the calibre of its contributors, the longevity of the series, its publisher's reputation, and the frequency with which its chapters are cited in the HRM literature.

By those measures, the series stands near the top of its niche. It is routinely described — including by its publisher — as a leading series in HRM research, and its chapters are written by scholars whose work defines the field's agenda. For hiring, tenure, and promotion committees in management departments, a chapter in RPHR is a recognized peer-reviewed publication, often weighted comparably to a strong journal article because of the chapter's length, the invited nature of contributions, and the series' selectivity. Doctoral supervisors regularly assign RPHR chapters as core readings, which is itself a meaningful indicator of a publication's influence: the series shapes what the next generation of HRM scholars reads first.

Submission Guidance

Contributions to Research in Personnel and Human Resources Management are typically developed in dialogue with the series editors rather than through an open rolling submission system of the kind journals use. Scholars interested in contributing should begin by studying recent volumes to understand the series' register: chapters are long (often the equivalent of 8,000–12,000 words or more), theoretically ambitious, and empirically substantial.

The most common route into the series is an invitation or a proposal. Prospective authors — particularly those with a distinctive theoretical contribution, a major literature synthesis, or programmatic empirical work — may contact the series editors with a proposal outlining the chapter's argument, its contribution to HRM scholarship, and its fit with the series. Themed volumes occasionally carry calls for chapters, announced through Emerald and through academic associations such as the Academy of Management's HR Division. In all cases, Emerald's author guidelines on manuscript preparation, referencing, figure permissions, and copyright apply; chapters are published under Emerald's standard agreements, with individual chapters copyrighted to their authors and published under exclusive licence.

Practical advice: frame the contribution around a clear theoretical advance or a definitive synthesis, not a single incremental study — the series rewards ambition. Situate the work in the international HRM literature, since the readership is global. And allow for rigorous peer review; the series' reputation depends on it, and the review process, while demanding, typically improves the final chapter considerably. Authors interested in open-access publication should raise the question with Emerald early, as arrangements for edited-volume chapters differ from journal open-access workflows.

Who Should Read and Publish Here

The series' core readership is HRM and organizational-behaviour researchers — faculty and doctoral students — along with educators who teach HRM and evidence-minded practitioners. Because chapters synthesize and advance theory at length, they are ideal assigned readings for doctoral seminars and for scholars entering a new sub-literature. HR practitioners and consultants concerned with leadership, compensation, diversity, technology, and workforce strategy will find the syntheses directly useful for evidence-based practice.

For authors, RPHR is best suited to scholars with something substantial to say: a new theoretical framework, a definitive review, or a programme of research that needs space to breathe. It is an especially good venue for mid-career scholars consolidating a research stream and for senior scholars setting agendas. Early-career researchers with a strong dissertation-based contribution can also find a home here, particularly when the work speaks to debates the series' readership follows closely.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Research in Personnel and Human Resources Management a journal?
No — it is an annual edited-volume book series published by Emerald. It has a series ISSN (0742-7301), and each volume is a book with its own ISBNs.

Who publishes it, and what is the ISSN?
Emerald Publishing Limited (UK); print ISSN 0742-7301; series DOI 10.1108/rphr.

Who are the series editors?
M. Ronald Buckley (University of Oklahoma), Anthony R. Wheeler (Widener University), John E. Baur (University of Nevada, Las Vegas), and Jonathon R. B. Halbesleben (University of Texas at San Antonio).

What topics does the series cover?
The full HRM domain: leadership, compensation, staffing, diversity, AI and technology at work, well-being, strategic and international HRM, and emerging workforce trends.

How many volumes have appeared?
More than forty; Volume 42 was published in 2024 with a reflective chapter on the series' forty-volume history.

Is it peer-reviewed?
Yes — contributions are developed with the series editors and undergo rigorous peer review consistent with Emerald's book-publishing standards.

Does it have an impact factor?
No Journal Impact Factor is assigned, since it is a book series rather than a Clarivate-indexed journal. Its standing rests on contributor calibre, citations, and longevity.

Is content open access?
Volumes are subscription-based. Authors interested in open access should consult Emerald's current policies for edited volumes.

How do I cite a chapter?
By chapter DOI (series prefix 10.1108/rphr), with volume number, volume year, series title, and Emerald as publisher, following standard book-chapter citation practice.

Are chapters available individually, or must I buy whole volumes?
Both routes exist. Libraries typically license whole volumes through Emerald's eBook collections, while individual readers can purchase or rent single chapters through Emerald's platform, which also offers pay-per-view access — useful when you need one definitive review rather than an entire volume.

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