Back to the Future: Implications for the Field of HRM of the Multistakeholder Perspective Proposed 30 Years Ago
Open accessAbstract
Thirty years on from the seminal works on human resource management ( HRM ) by Beer et al., we examine how the subject has developed. We offer a normative review, based on that model and critique the assumption that the business of HRM is solely to improve returns to owners and shareholders. We identify the importance of a wider view of stakeholders to practitioners and how academic studies on the periphery of HRM are beginning to adopt such a view. We argue that the HRM studies so far have given us much valuable learning but that the subject has now reached a point where we need to take a wider, more contextual, more multilayered approach founded on the long‐term needs of all relevant stakeholders. The original Beer et al. model remains a valuable guide to the next 30 years of HRM . © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Although the HRM purpose is two-dimensional in Soft HRM and refined to incorporate wider, long-term consequences, the main concern is still shareholder value and centered on organizational performance-related HR outcomes.
“Although the HRM purpose is two-dimensional in the Soft HRM model and refined to incorporate wider, long-term consequences (individual well-being, organizational effectiveness, societal well-being), the main concern is still shareholder value and centered on organizational performancerelated HR outcomes (commitment, competence, congruence, cost-effectiveness) (Beer, Boselie, & Brewster, 2015).”
From Common Good HRM: A paradigm shift in Sustainable HRM? (2020) · cites this paper as Beer, Boselie, & Brewster, 2015
Only recently have scholars been calling for a more Sustainable HRM model that better reflects how organizations are currently changing and developing toward more multistakeholder perspectives.
“Only recently have scholars been calling for a more Sustainable HRM model that better reflects how organizations are currently changing and developing toward more multistakeholder perspectives (e.g., Beer, 2015;Beer et al., 2015).”
From Common Good HRM: A paradigm shift in Sustainable HRM? (2020) · cites this paper as Beer et al., 2015
Developments in stakeholder theory are gradually being reflected in HRM.
“Developments in stakeholder theory (Freeman, Harrison, Wicks, Parmar, & de Colle, 2010) are gradually being reflected in HRM (Beer et al., 2015).”
From Conceptualising the future of HRM and technology research (2016) · cites this paper as Beer et al., 2015
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The Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits
Friedman, M. (2007) · Corporate Ethics and Corporate Governance · doi:10.1007/978-3-540-70818-6_14 · Cited by 11,529 · cited 1× · see citing works
“A Friedmanesque (Friedman, 1970) perspective is as outdated and fallacious in HRM as anywhere else.”
BackgroundHarter, J. K., Schmidt, F. L., & Hayes, T. L. (2002) · Journal of Applied Psychology · doi:10.1037/0021-9010.87.2.268 · Cited by 4,623 · see citing works
Stakeholder Theory: <i>The State of the Art</i>
Parmar, B. L., Freeman, R. E., Harrison, J. S., Wicks, A. C., Purnell, L., & de Colle, S. (2010) · Academy of Management Annals · doi:10.5465/19416520.2010.495581 · Cited by 2,755 · see citing works
Corporate Social Performance As a Competitive Advantage in Attracting a Quality Workforce
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Common Good HRM: A paradigm shift in Sustainable HRM?
Aust, I., Matthews, B., & Muller-Camen, M. (2020) · Human Resource Management Review · doi:10.1016/j.hrmr.2019.100705 · Cited by 531 · see citing works
“Only recently have scholars been calling for a more Sustainable HRM model that better reflects how organizations are currently changing and developing toward more multistakeholder perspectives (e.g., Beer, 2015; Beer et al., 2015).”
BackgroundConceptualising the future of HRM and technology research
Bondarouk, T., & Brewster, C. (2016) · The International Journal of Human Resource Management · doi:10.1080/09585192.2016.1232296 · Cited by 438 · see citing works
Self-citationStrategic Human Resource Management and COVID‐19: Emerging Challenges and Research Opportunities
Collings, D. G., McMackin, J., Nyberg, A. J., & Wright, P. M. (2021) · Journal of Management Studies · doi:10.1111/joms.12695 · Cited by 266 · see citing works
Cooke, F. L. (2025) · Human Resource Management · doi:10.1002/hrm.22318 · Cited by 50 · see citing works
- Authors
- Beer, M., Boselie, P., & Brewster, C.
- Affiliations
- Harvard University (US)
- Utrecht University (NL)
- Iscte – Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (PT)
- Corresponding author
- Beer, Michael
- Venue
- Human Resource Management
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2015-05
- Volume
- 54
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 427-438
- ISSN
- 0090-4848 (ISSN-L)
- 1099-050X
- OpenAlex
- W1901051398
- Cited by
- 342
- References
- 7
- Citations by year
- 2026: 30 · 2025: 32 · 2024: 41 · 2023: 36 · 2022: 37 · 2021: 41 · 2020: 31 · 2019: 26 · 2018: 30 · 2017: 24 · 2016: 12 · 2015: 1
- FWCI
- 49.25
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Human Resource Management (publishedVersion)
- Utrecht University Repository (Utrecht University) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management › Human Resource and Talent Management
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management › Management Theory and Practice
- Social Sciences › Anthropology › Global and Cross-Cultural Management
- Keywords
- multi-stakeholder perspectives, stakeholder theory, shareholder primacy
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