DOI: 10.1002/hrm.

22107

SPECIA L I SSUE A RTICL E

Strategic human resource management in the era of

environmental disruptions

Sunghoon Kim1 | Vlad Vaiman2 | Karin Sanders3

1
Work and Organisational Studies, The University
of Sydney Business School, Sydney, Australia
2
School of Management, California Lutheran
University, Thousand Oaks, California, USA
3
School of Management & Governance, UNSW
Business School, Sydney, Australia
Correspondence
Sunghoon Kim, Work and Organisational Studies,
The University of Sydney Business School, Sydney,
Australia.
Email: sunghoon.kim@sydney.edu.au
Abstract
This article—which serves as an introduction to the special issue of the role of (strate- gic)
human resource management (HRM) in the era of environmental disruptions— summarizes
previous research, introduces articles related to this special issue, and provides suggestions
for future research in the area. This special issue intends to advance HRM research by
putting it in the context of disruptive environments, aiming to deepen our theoretical and
empirical knowledge about the role of HRM in these disruptive environments, and provide
insights to managers and policymakers who must deal with current as well as future
disruptions in extra-organizational envi- ronments. The different sections of this
introductory paper are structured from the perspective of an individual (“How can HRM
help individual employees cope with
environmental disruptions?”), an organization (“How can HRM help organizations be
more resilient against environmental disruptions?”), and a community/societal per- spective
(“How can HRM help the community being affected by environmental dis- ruptions?”).
We conclude by proposing several research ideas and practical
implications for human resource professionals that would enable them to deal with
individual employees, their organization, and the community in times of environmen- tal
disruptions.

KE YWOR DS
COVID-19j coping mechanisms, environmental disruption, resiliencej strategic HRM

1 | INTRODUCTION unexpectedness and its profound impact on existing arrangements within

and across organizations, environmental disruption is a chal- lenging
Environmental disruptions—life-threatening changes in the extra-
managerial concern. Although management scholars have developed rich
organizational environment (Ehrlich, 1981)—have been widely dis- cussed
discussions on organizational responses to a range of changing business
in the context of management, particularly in the last 2 years. A disruptive
environments, research on disruptive environments is still in an emerging
environment is a type of extreme managerial context but is different from
stage (Hällgren et al., 2018; Oh & Oetzel, 2022).
other extreme management contexts, such as risky or emergency contexts,
Environmental disruptions are important for organizations' human
in the sense that it normally does not allow for preparation (Hällgren et al.,
resource management (HRM) concerns. Natural disasters such as
2018). The current COVID-19 pan- demic vividly exemplifies such
earthquakes and tsunamis can disrupt the local labor market, overrun an
environmental disruption. Due to its
organization's human resource (HR) capability, and seriously

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Hum Resour Manage. 2022;61:283–293. 283


2
undermine firm performance (Goodman & Mann, 2008; G. O. Lee &
Warner, 2005; Merlot & de Cieri, 2012). Catastrophic economic changes
such as the 2008 global financial crisis may force organiza- tions to
abandon their established routines and HR practices (Bae et al., 2003;
Carvalho & Areal, 2016). Political turmoil such as ter- rorism may require
companies to reconsider their HR practices of protecting employees
operating in hostile environments (Bader et al., 2019; Gannon &
Paraskevas, 2019; Mellahi & Wood, 2003). Disruptive changes in
immigration and refugee policies in Europe and the United States urge
employers to adjust their strategies to acquire, develop, and retain talents
(Cumming et al., 2020). The COVID-19 pandemic is the most recent
example of a serious environmental dis- ruption that forces organizations
worldwide to question the validity of the established way of managing their
workforce.
The increasing frequency and severity of environmental disrup- tions
necessitate HRM scholars to evaluate and extend the theories around the
dynamic interactions between HR practices and systems and firms'
environments. Over recent decades, strategic HRM (SHRM) has emerged
as a field of study that examines “HRM systems (and/or subsystems) and
their interrelationships with other elements compris- ing an organizational
system, including the organization's external and internal environments, the
multiple players who enact HRM systems, and the multiple stakeholders
who evaluate the organization's effec- tiveness and determine its long-term
survival” (Jackson et al., 2014,
p. 2). Despite its remarkable growth and achievements, SHRM schol-
arship still has many areas for development, particularly regarding its
engagement with external contexts (Cooke, Xiao, et al., 2021; Jiang &
Messersmith, 2018).
This special issue intends to advance HRM research by putting HRM
in the context of disruptive environments. The goal is to deepen our
theoretical and empirical knowledge about the role of HRM in these
disruptive environments and provide insights to managers and
policymakers, who must deal with current and future disruptions in extra-
organizational environments. In this introductory article of the special
issue, we first outline existing discussions on the relationship between
disruptive environments and HRM, followed by a summary of the articles
included in this special issue. Finally, we provide sug- gestions for future
research in this area and some practical recom- mendations for HR
professionals.
2 | ENVIRONMENTAL
DISRUPTIONS AND HRM
Management scholarship has a keen interest in the effect of environ- mental
disruptions. Over the years, researchers have proposed and examined a
range of related concepts, including environmental dyna- mism (Child,
1972), contextual uncertainty (Kwong et al., 2021), organizational crisis
(Pearson & Clair, 1998), hostile environments (Suder et al., 2019),
traumatic shock (Klüppel et al., 2018), and extreme environment (Van
Thielen et al., 2018). When it comes to the phenomenon being
covered, environmental disruptions share some commonalities with these
concepts. That acknowledged,
KIM ET
environmental disruption is still a useful concept worthy of being examined
on its own. In their review of management literature on extreme
environments, Hällgren et al. (2018) differentiated disruptive environments
from other related concepts of risky environments and emergency contexts.
According to their categorization, a disruptive environment is different
from a risky environment in its emphasis on the actuality of the catastrophic
event. While organizational responses to risky environments are based on
the ongoing potentiality of catas- trophe, firms' actions toward disruptive
environments are based on the events that actually have happened. They also
differentiated disruptive environment from emergency context by the possibility
of preparation. While emergency situations allow for some level of preparation
(for instance, fire for firefighters, medical emergency for doctors, air disasters
for airline companies, mining accidents for mining companies), environ- mental
disruptions involve extreme events that take organizations by surprise (for
instance, the 2011 tsunami for the Japanese auto industry and COVID-19 for
the global tourism industry). Hällgren et al. (2018) concluded that the effect of
a disruptive environment, despite its grow- ing importance, is least frequently
covered in top-tier management journals.
Disruptions of the business environment can be driven by many
factors. In relation to HRM, Ererdi et al. (2021) specified three main
sources of environmental disruptions: (1) natural disaster, (2) economic
upheaval, and (3) political turmoil. First, natural disasters such as tsu-
namis, earthquakes, and typhoons seriously disrupt the management of the
workforce. Natural disasters are often called “acts of God” as they are
unsystematic high uncertainties that do not allow organiza- tions to predict
and prepare for the occurrence and their conse- quences (Oh & Oetzel,
2022). Natural disasters may have a profound impact on HRM. Merlot and
De Cieri (2012) examined the impact of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami on
a not-for-profit organization that operated in the affected region. They
observed that the natural disas-
ter posed extreme HR challenges due to the sharp surge of both sup- ply
(massive inflow of volunteers) and demand (the lack of skilled staff) of
human capital. Second, catastrophic economic fluctuation such as the
collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Asian financial crisis in 1997, and
the global financial crisis in 2008 forced many com- panies to downsize the
workforce and revamp their HRM function and practices (Bae et al., 2003;
Carvalho & Areal, 2016). Third, political instabilities and traumatic
political events such as terrorism, civil war, and international conflicts
drove companies to introduce systems and practices by which employees
may feel safe and secure even in hostile environments (Bader et al., 2019;
Gannon & Paraskevas, 2019; Mellahi & Wood, 2003).
We draw readers' attention to three questions regarding HRM under
environmental disruptions:
1. How can HRM help individual employees cope with environmental
disruptions?
2. How can HRM help organizations be more resilient against envi-
ronmental disruptions?
3. How can HRM help the community being affected by environmen- tal
disruptions?
 KIM ET
In the following, we will highlight existing discussions around these
essential questions.
2.1 | SHRM to help individuals cope with
environmental disruptions
Environmental disruptions may function as extra-organizational stressors,
which are defined as “environmental factors outside work that can lead to
negative and potentially damaging reactions in indi- viduals” (Byron &
Peterson, 2002, p. 896). Employees' workplace atti- tudes and behaviors
can be seriously affected not only by workplace stressors (such as job
demands) but also by extra-organizational stressors. Many studies testify
that employees emotionally suffer from extra-organizational stressors, and
this leads to low job satisfac- tion, poor performance, and withdrawal
behaviors such as absentee- ism and turnover. For instance, Kushnir et al.
(2001) observed that Israeli workers showed a significantly higher level of
absenteeism cau- sed by the shock of the national traumatic event of Prime
Minister Rabin's assassination. Byron and Peterson (2002) examined the
implication of the September 11 terrorist attacks on employees. They found
that employees who were emotionally affected by the event demonstrated
higher absenteeism and job dissatisfaction. Salgado (2002) also reported
that observers of the September 11 attacks suffered from serious emotional
distress and experienced dif- ficulty in the workplace. Giorgi et al.
(2015) found that during the
2008 financial crisis, employees suffered from the fear of unemploy- ment,
which led to psychological distress and job dissatisfaction. Edwards et al.
(2022) and Sédès et al. (2022) reported that Brexit made UK-based foreign
workers feel less secure. Kuntz et al. (2013) documented that New
Zealand's teachers experienced a high level of burnout and turnover
intentions after the Christchurch earthquake. The spread of contagious
diseases such as SARS and COVID-19 is a particularly important extra-
organizational stressor to have a strong negative impact on employees'
well-being (Restubog et al., 2020; Yan et al., 2021).
Although the occurrence of extra-organizational stressors is beyond the
control of management, organizations can mitigate their impact on
employees. Studies demonstrated that companies could reduce the negative
impact of extra-organizational stressors by being proactive in ensuring
employees feel supported by their employer. As the conservation of
resource theory (Hobfoll, 1989) suggests, the key is to provide employees
with additional resources with the help of which they can cope with the
added stress. Sanchez et al. (1995) argued that employees will feel a lower
degree of emotional strain when they experience organizational support
that directly targets the sources of extra-organizational stress. They
surveyed the victims of the 1992 Hurricane Andrew in south Florida and
found that employees feel lower levels of emotional strain when they
experience tangible support from their employers that covers their
immediate needs such as transportation, housing, and emergency supplies.
Hochwarter et al. (2008) examined the experiences of workers who
suffered from the 2004 hurricane disaster in Florida and found that a
2
high level of perceived resources can neutralize the negative emo- tional
impact of hurricane-induced job stress. They even found enhanced job
satisfaction when a high level of hurricane-induced job stress was
countered by a high level of perceived organizational support.
In this stream of research, two things are especially worth noting. The
first is the importance of employees' perception and interpreta- tion of
organizational support for environmental disruptions. Waldman et al.
(2011) cautioned that organizational support for extra- organizational stress
may not be effective if employees perceive it as a bureaucratic and
routinized response rather than a virtuous and extraordinary one. This is in
line with the recent discussion of employee perception in SHRM literature
(Wang et al., 2020). The sec- ond is the importance of recognizing
individual differences. Studies have reported that not all employees are
equally affected by extra- organizational stress. For instance, De Clercq et
al. (2017) found that individuals with a high level of religiousness are less
affected by threats of terrorism. Yan et al. (2021) reported that the stress-
inducing effect of COVID-19 varies across individuals: employees who
support a larger number of dependents are more stressed than others. These
findings suggest that organizations need to carefully design and deliver
their support services to employees during environ- mental disruptions.
In summary, environmental disruptions can be seen as extra-
organizational stressors that may threaten employees' well-being because
they deplete employees' physical and emotional resources. This is a serious
HRM challenge, as affected employees will show low job satisfaction, low
job performance, and high turnover intentions. Fortunately, organizations
have the means to mitigate this problem. For instance, by providing
employees with timely and tangible support that is designed to address the
particular source of stress, organiza- tions can partially neutralize the
negative impacts of environmental disruptions. In other words, HRM has a
role in helping employees maintain emotional well-being and productivity
during disruptive environments.
2.2 | SHRM to help organizations navigate
environmental disruptions
A foundational concern of SHRM scholarship is identifying firm-level HR
systems and practices that allow organizations to secure sustain- able
competitive advantage. Therefore, identifying HR practices that enable
organizations to be sustainable in the face of disruptive envi- ronments is a
critical endeavor. Two concepts are especially signifi- cant in this regard:
organizational resilience and high-reliability organization.
Organizational resilience is defined as the process by which an
organization “builds and uses its capability endowments to interact with the
environment in a way that positively adjusts and maintains functioning
prior to, during, and following adversity” (Williams et al., 2017, p.
742). It is the firm's capability to absorb, interact, and engage with
environmental disruptions that could potentially threaten

2
the survival of the organization (Lengnick-Hall et al., 2011). HR scholars
argue that a key driver of organizational resilience is the “micro process”
through which individual employees' resilience is translated into firm-level
resilience (Branicki et al., 2019; Cooke et al., 2019; Cooke, Wood, et
al., 2021; Liu et al., 2019; Stokes et al., 2019). Branicki et al. (2019)
argued that efforts to develop orga- nizational resilience (e.g., hiring
dedicated managers of emergency planning) will not be successful unless
the company has a system of HR that enables employees to recognize the
value of such activity.
Empirical studies have reported that HRM can enhance an organi-
zation's resilience against environmental disruptions. Carvalho and Areal
(2016) found that companies listed as “Great Places to Work” are more
resilient and maintain better financial performance in times of crisis than
other companies. They reasoned that great workplaces that tend to be
considerate in using layoffs during challenging times and proactive in using
HR practices akin to high-performance work systems (HPWS) will
contribute to building organizational resilience. Khan et al. (2019)
examined the role of HR practices in building employee resilience in the
context of the Pakistani telecommunication
sector, which is affected by political instability and terrorism. Their
qualitative study revealed that job design, information sharing, employee
benefits, and employee development opportunities enhance employees'
resilience. Gannon and Paraskevas (2019) found that international hotels
build organizational resilience against hostile environments by using
sophisticated HR practices to manage the expatriation process.
As for building organizational resilience, researchers emphasize the
role of compassionate spirit that an organization demonstrates to its
members during environmental disruptions. Management scholars have
noted that being compassionate is not only morally recom- mendable but
also a valuable strategy for organizations that go through disruptive
situations (Dutton et al., 2006). A major benefit of compassionate
organizational actions is to enhance employee resil- ience and thereby
make organizations more resilient and adaptive (Tonkin et al., 2018).
Powley (2009) examined how organizations can activate employee
resilience in the face of unexpected organizational crises. In a study of
school shooting incidents, Powley found that organizational resilience is
activated through three mechanisms: limi- nal suspension that allows for
the emergence of new relational struc- tures, compassionate witnessing that
allows organizational members to show empathy to each other, and
relational redundancy that enables personal connections on a large scale
and rich exchange of information. Iverson and Zatzick (2011) observed
that, during disrup- tive changes (workforce downsizing), HPWS may
negatively impact labor productivity. However, the negative impact of
HPWS in disrup- tive contexts can be reduced if an organization shows a
high level of consideration for employee morale and welfare.
The term “high-reliability organizations” refers to organizations that
reduce the chance of a system breakdown by changing organiza- tional
culture and structure (Bigley & Roberts, 2001). Several organi- zational
features were identified as critical drivers of highly reliable organizations.
Arguably the most well-known pathway to a highly reli- able organization
is to build strong social capital within a firm. Kahn
KIM ET
et al. (2013) proposed a relational perspective on crises, suggesting that
minimizing relational disturbances is a crucial measure to over- come the
crisis and secure longer-term success. In other words, it is important to
build a system that can quickly restore the relational health of an
organization. Echoing this perspective, Van der Vegt et al. (2015)
theorized that employees' network ties can be formulated in such a way that
they are robust against disruptive changes. Such an idea is in line with the
evidence in several empirical studies. Gittell et al. (2006) compared the
pattern of recovery among airline compa- nies after the September 11
terrorist attacks. They found that compa- nies that had invested in relational
resources and preserved them by avoiding large-scale layoffs recovered
more quickly than other compa- nies. Vogus and Welbourne (2003)
reported that HR's emphasis on positive employee relations contributes to
building high-reliability organizations in a turbulent business sector (IPO
Software companies).
Another way to build high reliability against environmental disrup-
tions is to use a temporary project group dedicated to responding to the
catastrophic event. Biron et al. (2021) proposed the concept of
“skunkworks” and provided examples where organizations could suc-
cessfully weather disruptive events such as the COVID-19 outbreak. Under
the skunkworks system, a trusted project manager will run a temporary
cross-functional organization that is separated from the everyday structure
of the organization. Bigley and Roberts (2001) presented the incident
command system (ICS), a temporary organiza- tion employed by fire
departments to address large-scale, high-risk
emergencies. Similar to the skunkworks system, ICS sets up a cross-
functional, temporary organization led by a highly trusted leader who has
the authority to adjust the group structure as they see fit.
2.3 | SHRM to help communities better deal with
environmental disruptions
An emerging concern in SHRM literature is the role of HRM in build- ing
socially responsible organizations. Being a socially responsible
organization is particularly essential when society is struck by environ-
mental disruptions and people are suffering from extreme events such as
natural disasters, economic crises, or political insecurity. Van der Vegt et
al. (2015) emphasized the importance of collaboration between government
agencies, private enterprises, and civil society to overcome environmental
disruptions.
Serving crisis-struck communities is an act of engaging stake- holders
outside the organization. However, such externally oriented actions can be
a strategically valuable way for organizations to help their workforce.
Carnahan et al. (2017) suggest that organizations with a strong track record
of corporate social responsibility are likely to be more resilient against
environmental disruptions; they found that socially responsible law firms
experienced lower levels of employee turnover in the face of the September
11 attacks. They the- orized this was because corporate social responsibility
activities pro- vide employees with opportunities to find meaning in their
work. When employees experience or observe a tragic event, they are more
 KIM ET
2
likely to seek ways to make lasting contributions to society and feel
range of empirical contexts such as the United Kingdom, Vietnam, South
connected to other human beings (Grant & Wade-Benzoni, 2009).
Korea, and multinational companies' subsidiaries across 49 countries.
Therefore, they are more likely to stay in a company that makes a pos- itive
We discuss some details of each article below.
impact on society. In line with this, Muller and Kräussl (2011) found that
In the first paper of the special issue, Mihalache and Mihalache
companies performed better by actively engaging in corpo- rate
examined the impact of organizations' support for employees in rela- tion to
philanthropy during a crisis (Hurricane Katrina), and especially so by
the COVID-19 pandemic and employees' organizational com- mitment and
involving employees in these philanthropic activities.
job-related well-being. This study is an extension of the research stream in
Scholars also suggest that companies can help the community endure
which environmental disruptions are understood as an example of non-
and overcome the environmental disruptions by providing jobs that affirm
work-related, extra-organizational stressors that could have substantial
employees' professional identity, provide a sense of nor- mality, and supply
negative impacts on employees' workplace behaviors and attitudes (e.g.,
financial resources (Kent, 2019; Weick, 1993). When individuals are struck
Yan et al., 2021). Like previous studies on this topic, the authors found that
by a disaster, they turn to social units that represent safety and stability in
employees are less likely to suffer during an environmental disruption if
their minds, such as family, friends, and colleagues. By providing
they receive tangible support in their workplace. However, unlike previous
individuals with a place to find other individuals with whom to regularly
research, this study pro- vided more nuanced perspectives on the topic by
interact and make sense of the sit- uation together, organizations can
separating per- ceived organizational support from perceived supervisor
contribute to society's resilience against environmental disruptions. Beunza
support. This study also stands out by examining the boundary condition of
and Stark (2004) docu- mented how Wall Street traders could recover from
individ- ual differences (core self-evaluations and future focus). The
the shock of the September 11 attacks by restoring the structure of work
authors conducted an empirical study among 295 UK employees and found
and refocusing their attention on their professional lives, working in a
that employees' job-related well-being is enhanced by perceived orga-
makeshift backup office in New Jersey. Along this line, recent studies on
nizational support during the COVID-19 pandemic and perceived
HR's role in refugee crises (e.g., Hirst et al., 2021; Szkudlarek et al.,
accessibility to supervisors regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. They also
2021) show how private sector organizations can alleviate the pain of
found that the impact of perceived organizational support on job- related
international refugees.
well-being is less strong for those who have high core self- evaluations (i.e.,
Effective management of frontline relief workers is another important individuals who do not want to be seen as needing help), while its impact is
area where SHRM scholarship can provide useful insights. For a society to stronger for those who have high future focus (i.e., individuals who can
overcome environmental disruptions, it should be able to quickly and direct their attention to the future).
effectively mobilize and allocate human resources. When a global health
The second article in this special issue also examined the environ- mental
crisis (such as the SARS outbreak or the COVID- 19 pandemic) occurs, a
disruption from the perspective of this being an extra- organizational stressor to
massive number of health professionals need to be mobilized and
employees. Building on the conservation of resource theory and job demand
appropriately deployed to the place of need (Denis et al., 2021; Tian et al.,
and resource model, Vu et al. predicted that employees' perceived health risk in
2022). When a natural disaster (such as a typhoon or earthquake) strikes a
relation to COVID-19 will increase the chances of employee burnout and
region, government agencies, medi- cal institutions, and not-for-profit
thereby reduce job per- formance. They also predicted that this relationship can
organizations must immediately redeploy their staff, quickly hire new
be offset by organizations' tangible efforts to implement a set of workplace
personnel, and mobilize volun- teers to minimize human suffering (Merlot
safety practices. Further, they investigated whether and how employee mind-
& de Cieri, 2012). Securing the health and well-being of frontline relief
fulness can moderate the impact of COVID-19 on their well-being and job
workers is also an HRM challenge, as these workers may have to endure
performance. The authors conducted a survey-based quantitative study (n =
life-threatening and emotionally challenging situations (Das et al., 2021;
987) in Vietnam, followed by two qualitative studies. Although the empirical
Nagesh & Chakraborty, 2020).
data supported their theoretical predictions, they also observed interesting
anomalies in their Vietnamese subjects: the per- ceived risk of an
environmental disruption may make some employees highly motivated to
3 | ARTICLES IN THIS SPECIAL ISSUE perform better. Their interview data suggested that Vietnamese employees
worried about losing jobs during the disastrous environment and, therefore,
This special issue presents five papers that cover the individual, orga-
worked harder than during pre-crisis. This might be a cultural phenomenon that
nizational, and community perspectives and collectively extend our
needs to be further examined by future studies. It appears the relationship
knowledge on HRM in the context of environmental disruptions. Focusing
between extra-organizational stress from environmental disruptions and
on the COVID-19 pandemic as an example of environmental disruption,
employee job performance is less straightforward than some expected.
these papers address various issues, including HR's role to mitigate the
In the third paper of this special issue, Barclay, Kiefer, and Man- souri
impact of environmental disruptions on employee well- being, HR systems
examined individual employees' reactions to environmental dis- ruptions
to enhance organizational resilience, and the potential role of government
from a somewhat different perspective. This study took the view that
in the effectiveness of firm-level HR sys- tems in the context of
employees do not passively process the shocks and
environmental disruption. The articles cover a
 KIM ET
2
disruptions imposed on them. Instead, employees proactively respond to
Therefore, employee views on their organization's actions are likely to
environmental disruptions and subsequent workplace changes. Drawing on
interact with their views on government actions.
the job-crafting literature and emotional appraisal theo- ries, the authors
theorized that changes in work meaningfulness and work effectiveness
during an environmental disruption will lead to employees' job-crafting
4 | FUTURE RESEARCH AVENUES
behaviors (promotion-oriented job crafting or prevention-oriented job
crafting) via employees' emotions (pride or frustration). They tested their
Despite the ample insights offered by previous research and the arti- cles in
hypotheses with three-wave survey data (n = 402) collected in the United
this issue, more scholarly efforts are needed to understand the role of
Kingdom. An interesting insight offered in the paper is that not only positive
SHRM in the context of environmental disruptions. Given the increasing
but also negative emotional experiences may help employees navigate
frequency of environmental disruptions over the recent decades, well-
disruptive situations. The find- ings suggested that, in the context of disruptive
thought-out research in this area will advance HRM scholarship and benefit
changes, HR practi- tioners need to consider the bottom-up changes already
HR practitioners. In this section, we suggest some future avenues for
being made by employees. By nature, a sudden environmental disruption does
research in three principal areas: HRM to help individual employees; HRM
not allow organizations to develop and implement well-planned responses.
to help organizations; and HRM to help a community in the context of
Instead of trying to provide employees with top-down directions, managers can
environmental disruptions.
try to navigate the situation together with employees.
In the next paper, Lee, Yahiaoui, Lee, and Cooke used the organiza- tion as
their unit of analysis. Their study investigated the role of an HR system to
4.1 | SHRM for individuals under environmental
enhance organizational resilience. More specifically, they exam- ined the
disruptions
organizational resilience of multinational enterprises (MNEs) in the context of
the COVID-19 pandemic as an example of a global crisis. They theorized that
We need to further extend our knowledge about HR practices and policies that
meaningful global talent management helped MNEs to build organizational
will mitigate employees' stress caused by environmental disruptions. Two studies
resilience and quickly bounce back from the unex- pected global disruption
in this special issue show that an organization's tangible sup- port for a
caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. They gave special attention to the three- disastrous event is essential to mitigate employees' stress (Mihalache &
layered governance structure of MNEs— global headquarters, regional Mihalache, 2022; Vu et al., 2022). One promising avenue for future research is
headquarters, and foreign subsidiaries—and highlighted the importance of cross- to build on HR process literature that focuses on the processes through which
level collaboration between them in recovering from the shock of environmental HR practices generate their outcomes (Sanders & Yang, 2021). In this
disruption. They validated the theories using data collected from 166 Korean
research, scholars are concerned about how employees perceive (the “what”),
MNEs (293 regional headquarters and 1227 foreign subsidiaries across 49 host
understand (the “how”), and attri-
countries). A merit of this study is its empirical setting of global business. The
authors showed that a natural disaster in one part of the world may quickly bute (the “why”) HR in their organization (Wang et al., 2020; see also
Ostroff & Bowen, 2016). While valuable work has been done on the HR
emerge as an environmental disruption on a global scale, which makes MNEs
process (see Sanders & Yang, 2021), the influence of environmental dis-
particularly vulnerable to global disasters. The authors confirmed the role of
ruptions on how employees perceive, understand, and attribute HR in their
SHRM in developing MNEs' organizational resilience.
organization is rarely studied (an exception is Sanders et al., 2020). In fact, the
In the final paper of this special issue, Chang, Chin, and Lee exam-
HR process research has primarily been concerned about intra- organizational
ined whether the effectiveness of the corporate HRM system may be
phenomena, rather than extra-organizational ones. Future research could
affected by the perceived efficacy of the national government in the context
advance the literature by uncovering the influence of envi- ronmental disruptions
of disastrous environmental disruption. Their study of 1010 employees and
on employee perceptions, understandings, and attri- butions of HRM. HR
52 companies in South Korea found that employees of organizations with
professionals will benefit from such research as they will have more insights on
commitment-based HRM before COVID-19 are less likely to be swayed,
when and how they should share more infor- mation with their employees to
cognitively and emotionally, by the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic, and,
avoid high stress levels among employees. Another potentially useful future
subsequently, they are likely to show higher commitment to their
research direction is to build the lit- erature on social support. Scholars of
organization. In addition, they found that the relationship between pre-crisis
social support recognize that a
HRM and collective employee reactions to the extra-organizational threat is
moderated by the degree to which employees trust the government. This is “nascent yet promising area of research concerns the interplay between social
an interest- ing and important finding, given the crucial role played by support and environment demands in contextualized settings” (Bavik et al.,
national governments in responses to disruptive environments. In the case 2020, p. 743). Previous research and studies in this special
of the COVID-19 pandemic, governments in many countries introduced issue (e.g., Mihalache & Mihalache, 2022) testify to the importance of

policies that directly impacted workplace dynamics, such as social dis- perceived organizational support in the context of environmental disrup- tions.

tancing and isolations, travel restrictions, and business lockdowns.
Future research may extend the literature by going beyond per- ceived
organizational and supervisor support. For instance, researchers can investigate
the role of structural aspects of social support during environmental disasters.
Employees with different social networks may require different types of
organizational support in the face of disruptive
 KIM ET
2
changes, such as the rapid introduction of hybrid workplace arrange- ments
disaster-relief missions, religious organizations, and private citizens. Such
amid COVID-19 (Cross & Gray, 2021).
impromptu organizations are likely to experience a range of HRM
challenges that warrant further investigation (Majchrzak et al., 2007).
Future researchers can also examine “sustainable HRM” (Aust
4.2 | SHRM to build organizational resilience
et al., 2020), with which companies contribute to enhancing a community's
against environmental disruptions economic and societal sustainability so that it becomes more resilient
against environmental disruptions. One thing revealed by the COVID-19
Further research can take a more nuanced view of various types of HR
pandemic is that the negative impacts of environ- mental disruption are
systems and practices that can translate individuals' resilience into most visible among the most vulnerable in soci- ety. Therefore, reducing
organizational resilience in the context of environmental disruptions. For economic inequality and enhancing societal sustainability are crucial for
example, taking into account Branicki et al.'s (2019) findings, researchers securing communities' resilience to envi- ronmental disruptions. Along this
may want to look at specific kinds of individual resilience work that
line, HRM researchers can build on the “positive social change” literature
organizations' HR should encourage and reward to build more
that concerns how market- oriented corporations can contribute to the
organizational resilience in times of environmental disruptions. Another
advancement of societal
potentially interesting avenue for further research deals with organizational
well-being (Stephan et al., 2016).
reliability (Bigley & Roberts, 2001), particularly how HR policies and
procedures can help managers to build high-reliability organizations that do
not easily break down when faced with environ- mental disruptions.
5 | PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS FOR
Further, scholars may want to examine the possibility of inter- cultural
HR PROFESSIONALS
differences when it comes to employees from different cul- tural
backgrounds and the way they tend to deal with environmental disruptions.
HR professionals have a major role to play in any setting, but espe- cially
For example, in this issue, Vu et al. (2022) demonstrated that Vietnamese
during environmental disruptions such as the COVID-19 pan- demic
employees worry about their job security during vari- ous disasters and,
(Caligiuri et al., 2020; Farndale & Vaiman, 2022; Vaiman et al.,
therefore, work harder than in “normal” times. In contrast, employees in
2021). Among the practical implications of research studies in this area,
the United Kingdom (Barclay et al., in this issue) do not passively accept
including those in this special issue, it is important to empha- size a few of
the disruptions imposed on them but, rather, proactively respond to such
the major roles HR professionals can play in ensuring that their
disruptions and resulting work- place changes by, for instance, crafting
organizations survive and flourish in the age of environmen- tal
their own jobs. A curious
disruptions.
scholar may want to dig deeper into such contrasting responses by
First, HR professionals can help individual employees in their
employees from various parts of the world to see if these differences are
organizations to deal with extra-organizational (or environmental) stress by
indeed caused by respective national cultures or something else.
providing various support services that may vary from arranging
professional psychological support to well-being seminars to practical
assistance with family issues. Second, HR professionals can help managers
4.3 | SHRM to develop community resilience build and maintain organizational resilience to environmental disruptions
against environmental disruptions by enhancing the resilience of individual employees. For example, HR
professionals should ensure that man- agers afford their employees
Future research could examine HR strategies for organizations at the
compassionate spirit (which should be an integral part of the organizational
forefront of the community's efforts to minimize human suffering from
culture), open and transparent com- munication, free information sharing,
environmental disruptions. Two types of frontline organizations are worth
meaningful employee benefits, and enhanced employee development
noting: (1) social service institutions such as healthcare institutions and
opportunities, all of which are known to boost employee resilience and,
humanitarian not-for-profit organizations and
through that, organizational resilience. Third, on a societal level, when
(2) impromptu community embedded organizations. As shown during the
confronted with environ- mental disruptions, HR professionals can help
COVID-19 pandemic, environmental disruptions require social service
their organizations to provide their employees with emotional and material
organizations to deal with a range of HR challenges: rapid redeployment of
support, as well as the opportunity for close social interaction with the
their workforce, prevention of employee burnout, securing the safety and
affected com- munity members in and outside of the organization, which
well-being of frontline staff, and organizing volunteers. Efforts to identify
contributes to the resilience of the community or society at large against
effective HRM for these organizations would provide researchers with
such dis- ruptions, both now and in the future.
opportunities to extend our knowl- edge of SHRM. Another promising
Speaking in more general terms, HR professionals should not only help
avenue for future research is HRM challenges that arise in the process of
organizations react to environmental disruptions but also prepare them for
“community embedded organiz-
future crises. For example, they can become strong “cham- pions of
ing” in the aftermath of environmental disruptions (Williams &
processes” to ensure their organizations pay due attention to
Shepherd, 2021). When catastrophic events occur, impromptu organi-
both compliance and risk management (Farndale et al., 2010). Put
zations often emerge in collaboration between government workers,

2
differently, HR professionals need to play a significant role in formu- lating
and implementing appropriate policies for employee behavior and ensuring
that desired behaviors are encouraged and rewarded. In addition, HR
professionals play a strong role as “guardians of culture” (Farndale et al.,
2010) to create and maintain a fitting organizational culture that supports
flexibility and sensitivity to the external environment, including in times
of environmental disruptions. HR professionals can help their top
managers to formulate and imple- ment policies and practices that reward
collaboration, trust, and motivation to work together, especially when
faced with various
crises (Farndale & Vaiman, 2022). Hopefully, the practical implica- tions
discussed above will help HR professionals to find their role in
mitigating the outcomes of and being better prepared for envi- ronmental
disruptions.
6 | CONCLUSION
In this introductory paper to the special issue, we focused on the indi-
vidual, organizational, and community perspectives when considering the
role of SHRM in the age of environmental disruptions. From the individual
perspective, we aimed to answer the question of how HRM can help
individual employees cope with environmental disruptions. From the
organizational perspective, we focused on how HRM can help
organizations become more resilient against environmental dis- ruptions.
From the community perspective, we provided insights into how HRM can
help the community deal with these environmental dis- ruptions. Following
this, we summarized previous research, introduced the papers within this
special issue, and provided an overview of future research.
Finally, we want to thank the contributors, as well as the reviewers for
their valuable support in improving the articles and shaping this special
issue.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Open access publishing facilitated by The University of Sydney, as part of
the Wiley - The University of Sydney agreement via the Coun- cil of
Australian University Librarians.
DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT
Data sharing not applicable to this article as no datasets were gener- ated or
analysed during the current study.
ORCID
Sunghoon Kim https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4374-9332 Vlad
Vaiman https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8104-3683 Karin
Sanders https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0385-1690
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Stokes, P., Smith, S., Wall, T., Moore, N., Rowland, C., Ward, T., & Cronshaw,
S. (2019). Resilience and the (micro-) dynamics of organiza- tional Sunghoon Kim is an Associate Professor at The University of Syd-
ambidexterity: Implications for strategic HRM. The International Journal of ney Business School. He received his PhD from Cornell Univer- sity.
Human Resource Management, 30(8), 1287–1322.
His main research interests are strategic human resource management
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gap: The role of HRM in creating, capturing and leveraging rare knowl- and comparative employment relations, particularly in the context of
edge in hostile environments. The International Journal of Human Resource the Asia-Pacific region. His research has been published in leading
Management, 30(11), 1794–1821. journals including Human Resource Manage- ment, Industrial and
Szkudlarek, B., Nardon, L., & Toh, S. M. (2021). A temporal perspective on Labor Relations Review, Organization Studies, Journal of
refugee employment–advancing HRM theory and practice. Human Resource
Management Journal. https://doi.org/10.1111/1748-8583. 12418
International Business Studies, International Journal of Human
Tian, T., Meng, F., Pan, W., Zhang, S., Cheung, T., Ng, C. H., … Xiang, Y. T. Resource Management, and Management and Organization Review.
(2022). Mental health burden of frontline health professionals treating
imported patients with COVID-19 in China during the pandemic. Psy- Vlad Vaiman is a Professor and Associate Dean at the School of
chological Medicine, 52(2), 398–399. https://doi.org/10.1017/S003 Management of California Lutheran University and a visiting pro-
3291720002093 fessor at several premier universities around the globe. He has
Tonkin, K., Malinen, S., Näswall, K., & Kuntz, J. C. (2018). Building employee
resilience through wellbeing in organizations. Human Resource published a number of academic and practitioner-oriented books,
Development Quarterly, 29(2), 107–124. articles, and book chapters on talent management and Interna- tional
Vaiman, V., Cascio, W. F., Collings, D. G., & Swider, B. (2021). The shifting HRM. His work appeared in Academy of Management Learn- ing and
boundaries of talent management. Human Resource Management, 60(2), Education, Human Resource Management, International Journal of
253–257.
Van Der Vegt, G. S., Essens, P., Wahlström, M., & George, G. (2015). Man-
Human Resource Management, Human Resource Manage- ment
aging risk and resilience. Academy of Management Journal, 58(4), 971–980. Review, Journal of Business Ethics, and many others. He is a founder,
organizer, and a leading chair of the EIASM Workshop
KIM ET
on Talent Management, as well as the editor of the Emerald Book
Series on Talent Management.
Karin Sanders (Ph.D.) is a Professor of Human Resource Manage-
ment (HRM) and Organizational Psychology at UNSW Business
School, UNSW Sydney, Australia. Her research activities focus on the
antecedent and consequences of employees' understanding and
attribution of HRM. Her work has been published in journals such as
Human Resource Management, Human Resource Manage- ment
Journal, Journal of Vocational Behavior, Academy of
2
Management Learning & Education, Organization Studies and Orga-
nization Science.
How to cite this article: Kim, S., Vaiman, V., & Sanders, K.
(2022). Strategic human resource management in the era of
environmental disruptions. Human Resource Management,
61(3), 283–293. https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.22107