Search Results (404)

The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into human resources management is driving a profound transformation in the evolution of management, and even more so in the management of human talent, which is the primary resource of any organization. This research provides an in-depth analysis of the impact of AI on core human resource management processes, covering the automation of operations that enables the exploration of dimensions such as talent acquisition, training, potential development, mental well-being, strategic workforce planning, job design, diversity, compensation, equity and inclusion, change management, culture and sustainability. The purpose of this study is to systematically synthesize the existing evidence on the impact of artificial intelligence on human management processes, identifying the scientific consensus, emerging contradictions, research gaps, and implications for sustainable organizational development. A systematic review was conducted of various sources published between 2020 and 2025 from databases such as ScienceDirect and Scopus, among others, using predefined Boolean search strategies, explicit inclusion and exclusion criteria and a structured thematic synthesis narrowing down the main studies based on search criteria. It was determined how algorithms are changing the employer-employee relationship within organizations. The findings indicate that the effectiveness of AI depends on the development of a hybrid intelligence that preserves the human factor consideration. It is concluded that AI enables the optimization of cultural change management, analytical precision, and ethical oversight—which are irreplaceable and critical human competencies in today’s digital age. This review contributes to the literature by providing a comprehensive synthesis of recent evidence, identifying unresolved research gaps, and proposing a future research agenda that will lead to the development of sustainable, responsible, and people-centered AI in human resource management. Full article

The internal audit function provides consulting services and recommendations for management on performance quality, business environment security, or risk management. Internal auditors are expected to monitor the senior managers’ behaviors and support them in operational and strategic decision making. They should recognize and reduce the possibility of an employee’s opportunistic behavior, improve internal control, and prevent financial fraud. Therefore, they should be highly qualified, and their competencies are to be constantly updated. Hence, they are encouraged to learn and participate in certification processes organized by various institutions, e.g., the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA). Although there are many strategies of learning in the certification process, this study focuses on learning-by-testing approach. This method emphasizes the use of testing to acquire the internal audit knowledge needed to successfully pass the professional certified exams. Beyond that, the authors present the use of large language models (LLMs) in internal auditing. However, the research goal is to how the large language models (LLMs) can be used to answer questions included in the Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) exam directed by the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA). In the research section, fourteen LLMs were evaluated using English and Polish-language CIA test sets comprising 184 and 183 multiple-choice questions, respectively, with accuracy as the primary performance metric. The best-performing individual model achieved approximately 91% accuracy, while the Friedman test identified statistically significant overall differences among the models for both datasets. The findings indicate that a multi-agent system can achieve better performance than an individual LLM. The learning-by-testing method can be supported not only by the use of professional association materials but also by the opportunity learners have to enrich their knowledge through the use of LLMs in the learning process. Full article

In manufacturing enterprises, work safety assessments mostly focus on technical requirements and regulatory compliance, whereas the influence of workplace environmental quality is still not adequately addressed. To bridge this gap, this paper develops a novel approach to work safety analysis that incorporates both quantitative and qualitative parameters characterizing the working environment of employees involved in machining processes. This framework consists of: (1) a description of the workstation, (2) a set of quantitative and qualitative indicators characterizing the working environment of employees involved in machining processes, and (3) the Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP) method. Overall, the developed analytical framework consists of eight quantitative parameters representing workplace environmental values specified in legal regulations, and eight qualitative parameters reflecting selected aspects of environmental quality and work comfort. The results of the FAHP analysis revealed that the sense of security in the use of machinery and equipment and the level of concentration/distraction were identified as the most significant qualitative factors influencing work safety among employees engaged in machining processes. Next, the findings of our study enabled the development of a new method, namely occupational safety index (OSI). Finally our paper introduces the main challenges and directions: (1) monitor a continuous change as new technologies are introduced and implemented in machining process, (2) asses and analyse the necessary competencies to ensure the safe operation of modern technological systems, (3) and incorporate the ongoing monitoring and regular updating of work safety assessment results into the organization’s strategic management framework. Full article

The misalignment between workforce competences and the requirements of digitally evolving occupations is a critical barrier to SME competitiveness. This study’s primary contribution is theoretical and methodological: it reconceptualizes the workforce skill gap as a firm-level human-capital–technology complementarity constraint rendered observable and commensurable through the ESCO taxonomy, and abstracts four transferable design principles—commensurability, macro–micro integration, a transferable metric, and modular extraction. Drawing on human capital theory, the knowledge-based view, and skill-biased technical change, the framework maps anonymized employee CVs to ESCO occupational requirements through a deterministic natural language processing procedure and computes a Skill Gap Indicator as the complement of evidenced competence coverage. A prototype Intelligent Learning Management System, developed within the LUCE project, instantiates the framework as a proof of concept, translating identified gaps into targeted training recommendations. Applied to a convenience sample of publicly available professional profiles, the indicator has a mean of 0.956, interpreted as a conservative upper-bound estimate rather than a literal deficit. The empirical results are an exploratory demonstration that motivates, rather than confirms, the posited link between skill gaps and firm performance; a cross-sectional test found no significant association, which the design cannot adjudicate. Confirmatory testing would require sample expansion, employer-provided workforce records, and a longitudinal design, identified as priorities for future research. The study thus contributes a standardised, interoperable, and transferable approach to measuring and comparing workforce skill gaps in SMEs. Full article

The present study aims to examine the effect of transformational and transactional leadership styles on the effectiveness of talent management in the Jordanian Ministry of Health, where the mediating variable is employee engagement while the moderating variable is organizational culture. The current study fills an important void in the literature because few studies have integrated all these relationships within the public healthcare sector in a Middle East context. A cross-sectional quantitative study was performed using stratified random sampling over 154 departmental units within the Ministry of Health. A structured questionnaire was used to gather data from 379 healthcare professionals, which were then analyzed by applying Structural Equation Modeling (SmartPLS 4). The results show that transformative leadership (β = 0.238; p = 0.043) as well as transactional leadership are significant to the success of talent management. Leadership styles also positively affect employee engagement (β = 0.66; p = 0.001), and employee engagement in turn has a positive influence on the effectiveness of talent management (β = 0.309; p = 0.001). Organizational culture is shown to have a moderating effect (β = 0.102; p = 0.012), which strengthens the relationship between leadership and talent management. The findings underscore the need for culturally appropriate leadership development and engagement strategies in public healthcare systems. Based on the findings, policy-makers in the Ministry of Health might consider investing in leadership competency building and develop supportive organizational cultures as strategic approaches to strengthen talent management and organizational performance. Full article

This study pivots from the universally beneficial view of servant leadership and examines how leader gender shapes its effectiveness evaluations through followers’ warmth and competence perceptions. Combining role congruity theory and the stereotype content model, we propose a congruity trap model and suggest that servant leadership produces different effectiveness evaluations depending on leader gender. Specifically, we hypothesize that servant leadership interacts with leader gender to produce divergent warmth and competence perceptions, and these perceptions in turn lead to perceived leadership effectiveness. In a 2 × 2 between-subjects online experiment (Study 1; N = 298), we found that servant leadership and leader gender interacted to predict both warmth and competence perceptions as hypothesized. In a three-wave time-lagged field study with full-time employees in China (Study 2; N = 194), we obtained partial support that the servant leadership and leader gender interaction was significant for competence perceptions but not for warmth perceptions. Gender-contingent differences in perceived effectiveness were more clearly transmitted through the indirect pathway involving competence. Taken together, these findings suggest that the competence perceptions constitute the more consistent mechanism through which servant leadership behaviors produce divergent evaluation outcomes for female and male leaders. Overall, our model and findings reveal that the benefits of servant leadership are not equally available to all leaders, illuminating how gender stereotypes create divergent evaluation outcomes from identical leadership behaviors. Full article

Employees’ helping behavior is critical for team efficiency and innovation. However, the literature highlights competing perspectives on whether receiving help elicits a pattern consistent with reciprocity or defensive ingratitude. Grounded in the help-as-status model and self-regulation theory, we developed a dual-pathway model to examine how received task-related help may influence recipients’ subsequent differentiated helping behaviors through the lens of status threats. We further investigate the moderating role of a competitive climate in this process. On the basis of a two-wave survey of 252 full-time employees, our findings reveal that receiving task-related help is positively associated with perceived status threat. This threat, in turn, serves as a plausible mediator of the link between receiving help and subsequent dependency-oriented help while exerting a suppressive effect on autonomy-oriented help. Furthermore, a competitive climate appeared to intensify the indirect pathway to dependency-oriented help, though the evidence for moderation of the autonomy-oriented help pathway was mixed. By exploring these defensive psychological mechanisms within a single national organizational context, this study offers a cautious, status-based explanation for managing the complexities of prosocial interactions. While the findings provide nuanced insights into post-help dynamics, we acknowledge the inherent boundaries of our two-wave, self-reported survey design. However, the positive direct association with autonomy-oriented help may be consistent with multiple processes beyond status threat, including unmeasured gratitude, reciprocity norms, learning orientation, or enhanced relational quality. Full article

Digital transformation is increasingly recognized as an important enabler of sustainable development and competitiveness in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). However, evidence on how different dimensions of digital transformation relate to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) remains limited. This study explores the relationship between digital transformation and selected Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) using an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design, in which quantitative findings informed the subsequent qualitative exploration and interpretation of managerial perspectives. The quantitative phase combined data from Eurostat’s ICT Usage Survey (2020–2024), including 60 sustainability-related indicators, with an analysis of the relationship between the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) and selected SDG indicators across 27 EU member states using Spearman’s rank correlation. The quantitative analysis suggests that Slovenia performs close to the EU average in overall digitalization, while significant associations were identified between digitalization and SDG 9. The qualitative phase consisted of semi-structured interviews with managers from ten Slovenian SMEs from different sectors. The findings indicate that managers perceive digital technologies, process digitalization, data-driven decision-making, and employee digital competencies as important contributors to sustainability-related outcomes, particularly in relation to SDG 8, SDG 9, SDG 12, and SDG 13. The study contributes to the literature on sustainability-oriented digital transformation in SMEs by integrating quantitative benchmarking with managerial perspectives. The findings highlight the importance of organizational capabilities, digital competencies, and strategic alignment in translating digital transformation initiatives into sustainability-related outcomes. The results provide practical implications for SMEs and policymakers seeking to support sustainable and digitally enabled business development. Full article

Workforce management in the construction industry in developing countries like South Africa is still plagued by skills shortages, low productivity, and inadequate adoption of new technologies. This paper examines the factors influencing the adoption of digital technologies for sustainable construction workforce management in South Africa, using the Technology–Organization–Environment (TOE) model as the guiding theory. A quantitative research approach was adopted with data gathered from a questionnaire survey carried out on selected construction organizations, and the data were analyzed using covariance-based structural equation modelling (CB-SEM). It was found that both the technology dimensions comprising compatibility, competence, relative advantage and complexity, and the environmental dimensions including government policy, legislation, and competition significantly predicted the effective use of digital technologies in workforce management, while the organizational dimension failed to do so (β = 0.10). Also, effective digitalization was significantly associated with worker participation and productivity, rapid employee development, optimal reward and information management, as well as talent recruitment and retention. Full article

The achievement of the sustainable development goal of fostering innovation is directly related to the successful commercialisation of technologies that deliver economic, environmental, and social value. The article presents the theoretical prerequisites for substantiating the relationship between competences and innovation and identifies key commercialisation competences on the basis of an extensive literature review and empirical investigation. The literature emphasises that the success of commercialisation depends on technological and organisational resources as well as the competences of those involved in commercialisation activities. However, to date, research has mainly focused on selected competences, with relatively few studies simultaneously analysing the perceived importance of competences and the extent to which employees of research organisations possess them. This article aims to identify the key commercialisation competences necessary for executing technology commercialisation in research network organisations and to evaluate the extent to which employees involved in commercialisation activities possess and recognise the importance of these competences. Many of these can be treated as core sustainability-oriented competences, understood as capabilities that enable sustainability-oriented commercialisation by integrating environmental and social considerations into innovation processes. An empirical investigation was conducted at the Łukasiewicz Research Network, one of the largest research networks in Europe. The CAWI (Computer-Assisted Web Interviewing) method was employed. Eighty-nine respondents, employees involved in commercialisation processes, represented both research and commercialisation support departments. Statistical analyses included confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses, scale reliability, measurement invariance analysis, and comparison tests. As a result, ten key commercialisation competences were identified, including both interpersonal competences and job-related commercialisation competences for research network organisations. The ten identified key competences constitute an integrated competence framework that enables research network organisations to effectively support sustainability-oriented innovation and commercialisation activities. Out of the 25 competences identified as a result of the literature review, these were regarded as the most essential and compulsory. Full article

The research investigates the sequential routes through which customer-centric culture (CCC) leads to sustainable performance (SP) in the hospitality sector, by analyzing the mediating impacts of sales force automation (SFA) and big data analytics capabilities (BDACs), and the moderating impact of employee digital competence (EDC). A serial mediation model (CCC → SFA → BDACs → SP) was proposed and empirically tested using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) on survey data from 315 managerial and operational employees in five-star hotels in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, grounded in the resource-based view, dynamic capabilities theory, and service-dominant logic. The results support all eleven hypotheses and show that SFA has a positive effect on BDACs (β = 0.391) and SP (β = 0.319), and BDACs have a significant effect on SP (β = 0.143). The CCC has a significant direct impact on SFA (β = 0.746) and SP (β = 0.421). Importantly, the serial mediation pathway (CCC → SFA → BDACs → SP) is significant (β = 0.042) and EDC significantly moderates the SFA–BDAC (β = 0.447) and BDACs–SP (β = 0.112) relationships. The model accounted for 72.1% of the variance in SP. The findings emphasize that sustainable performance is not driven by mere technology adoption but a synergistic integration of customer-oriented culture, automation, analytics, and digital workforce competencies. Full article

This study investigates how sustainable leadership enhances green performance in the tourism and hospitality sector, specifically among managers and supervisors working in five-star hotels and travel agencies, by examining the mediating roles of green innovation and green self-efficacy through the lenses of the Resource-Based View (RBV) and Dynamic Capabilities Theory (DCT). A quantitative research approach was adopted, utilizing survey data collected from 788 managers and supervisors employed in Egyptian five-star hotels and travel agencies operating within a highly competitive tourism destination context. The findings indicate that sustainable leadership has a significant positive effect on green performance and positively influences both green innovation and green self-efficacy. Moreover, green innovation and green self-efficacy significantly contribute to green performance and partially mediate the relationship between sustainable leadership and environmental outcomes. This study contributes to the literature on sustainability, tourism, and organizational behavior by providing an integrated framework that links sustainable leadership with organizational innovation capabilities and employees’ environmental competencies. In addition, the findings extend the explanatory power of RBV and DCT in explaining how sustainable leadership practices translate into enhanced environmental performance in tourism and hospitality organizations. From a practical perspective, the study highlights the importance of adopting leadership practices that foster green innovation, strengthen employees’ environmental confidence, and promote proactive environmental behavior within organizations. Full article

Strategic competition in health service markets requires managers to make pricing, marketing, and investment decisions under uncertainty, yet educational programs in healthcare management and dietetics lack experiential tools for teaching these competencies within a game-theoretic framework. This study develops and computationally validates SY142-Game-Theory-1, a computational simulation framework that models strategic competition between two asymmetric healthy living centers as a 36-month repeated Prisoner’s Dilemma, integrating demand decomposition, net present value analysis, employee satisfaction dynamics with burnout thresholds, reputation feedback, and stochastic shock events. The simulation produces a valid and distinctly asymmetric Prisoner’s Dilemma structure in which the established provider faces the classical temptation to defect while the new entrant’s rational incentive aligns with cooperation; Axelrod-style tournaments across 22 strategies (96,800 simulations) identify Forgiving Tit-for-Tat as the top-performing strategy; Monte Carlo validation (n = 1000) confirms a statistically significant cooperation premium of 24.1% over Nash equilibrium; and sensitivity analyses across four parameters demonstrate robustness of all qualitative findings. The open-source framework bridges game theory, simulation-based learning, and health service management education, providing a computationally validated foundation for teaching strategic decision-making in competitive healthcare environments, with empirical evaluation of learning outcomes reserved for future work. Full article

This study aimed to develop and validate a psychometric instrument to assess intercultural mediation among public employees of security forces in Spanish border contexts (CMIEPFS). An initial pool of 42 items was created and refined through expert judgment, resulting in a final 38-item questionnaire. The instrument was administered to two independent samples (n = 426 for exploratory factor analysis; n = 512 for confirmatory factor analysis). Construct validity was examined using structural equation modeling, and reliability was assessed through Cronbach’s alpha, intraclass correlation coefficient, and Pearson correlation. Results supported a three-factor structure: (1) acceptance of intercultural environments, (2) intercultural competences in the workplace, and (3) training in intercultural mediation. Exploratory factor analysis indicated adequate sampling adequacy (KMO = 0.916) and a significant Bartlett’s test (p < 0.001), explaining 63.08% of the variance. Confirmatory factor analysis showed an acceptable model fit (RMSEA = 0.07). Internal consistency was high (α = 0.91), and test–retest reliability was satisfactory (ICC = 0.82; r = 0.84, p < 0.001). The instrument shows adequate validity and reliability for assessing intercultural mediation in public security personnel. It provides a useful tool for research, training evaluation, and institutional diagnosis in multicultural professional contexts. Full article