Vol. 1 No. 4 (2012): December - Special Issue: Economic Utility of Employee-Linked Activities and Behaviors

On the conceptual level, human resource research has progressed remarkably in recent decades. In regard to employee behavior in the workplace, it has focused on patterns that are both functional and dysfunctional. In respect to human resource management programs and interventions, there is similarly a wealth of solid literature on how to conduct activities such as staffing, training, performance appraisal and so forth. Since the outcomes of these strategies are so crucial to the economic viability of the companies planning to utilize them, it is not surprising that much of the research has focused on the analysis of their effectiveness. Yet, the efficacy of these methods is left largely unearthed. In fact, much less attention has been devoted to the assessment of the net real post-tax financial benefits of these intervention strategies than to their operational validity (i.e., effectiveness).

This is particularly surprising in view of the fact that cost-benefit analysis is routinely employed to assess economic utility in other areas of management.

The goal of this Special Issue is to cast light on innovative work in the field of the economic assessment of employee organizational behaviors and HRM strategies and activities.

Aharon Tziner (Special Issue Editor in charge)