Out of touch? an evaluation of the correspondence between academic and practitioner concerns in IHRM

Abstract

This study evaluated the practical relevance of the academic literature on international human resources management (IHRM). To this end, 304 IHRM articles published in 9 academic and 8 practitioner journals during 1991-2000 were examined. Results suggested that academics and practitioners varied in their focus on HR topics, geographical regions, and cultural versus institutional variables. In addition, academics were interested in individual level outcomes as opposed to practitioners, who were primarily concerned with organizational performance. Finally, citation patterns revealed little interaction between academics and practitioners, and academics appeared to be unconcerned with discussing the practical implications of their work.