The State of Theorizing Human Resource Development (HRD) in Extended Context: A Review

Abstract

In this article, I examine and evaluate the human resource development (HRD) theorization presented by Wang and Doty (2022a), as well as the reactions it received from Russ-Eft (2022), Yoon (2022), and Poell (2022), and the response provided by Wang and Doty (2022b). I observe that the principal criticism of the current HRD framework proposed by Wang and Doty revolves around the significance of culture within the host institution system (HIS). They argue that culture holds little to no importance in the HIS. However, upon examining the definition of HIS presented in this paper, it becomes apparent that the role of culture cannot be easily dismissed in any discussion pertaining to HIS, thereby calling for further theorizing and research. The suggestions put forth in this article have the potential to contribute to the advancement of the current theorization into a genuinely dynamic framework for the HRD discipline.