HRM and Employability : Mutual Gains or Conflicting Outcomes?

Employability is attracting growing attention from researchers and practitioners alike given the contemporary employment landscape – one characterized by technological changes, ageing populations, and competitive organizational environments. This interest is in part motivated by the realisation that employability implies a win-win situation as employable workers have stocks of knowledge, skills, and abilities, and they are flexible and open to change. However, the role of the employer and specifically their investments in Human Resource Management policies and practices are largely absent in the current employability discourse. Employability is usually regarded as an individual asset in which employees carry almost all responsibility for employability maintenance and development. Remarkably little has been done to remedy the neglect of the employer perspective and advance knowledge and practice. This book brings together contributions from an international team of renowned management scholars who explore how Human Resource Management investments affect workers’ employability. Drawing on empirical evidence from all over the world, this book informs researchers, practitioners, and students in the fields of business and management, especially those with a particular interest in HRM and organizational behaviour. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of The International Journal of Human Resource Management.