the intersection of it and Workforce Management: a Maturing research field

The field of electronic HRM and Human Resource Information Systems (HRISs) has developed very rapidly over recent years. Already, more than twenty years have passed since the publication of DeSanctis’s (1986) seminal work on HRISs, and the topic continues to command the attention of scholars and practitioners around the world. If anything, interest in this topic has been increasing, as evidenced by citation counts, international academic workshops dedicated to this topic and a number of special issues of international journals. In line with this trend, and responding to a perceived need to advance our understanding and theoretical grounds in this field, this special issue is a timely contribution. Throughout the first two decades of e-HRM research, an initial body of empirical findings and distinct conceptual propositions have appeared. We attribute our knowledge about types of e-HRM applications, positive and negative consequences of e-HRM implementations, assumptions about various architectural compositions of IT-based HRM channels, different popularity of e-HRM tools and business-driven promises (goals) of e-HRM to this research period. However, e-HRM research to date has been scattered throughout numerous journals, has concentrated on several distinct focal points and remains patchy (Strohmeier, 2007). This special issue with seven articles aims to facilitate the transition of e-HRM research from its infancy stage, of gathering scattered knowledge, towards a more ‘grown-up’ and mature stage. To achieve this, this issue sets out to: