Human resource management and circular economy: a critical perspective

While there is an increase in the number of organisations disclosing their commitment or intentions to embrace the circular economy for sustainable futures, the role of individuals found within these organisations and their management remains inconspicuous. Current disclosures on Human Resource (HR) and the role of Human Resource Management (HRM) at firm level Circular Economic (CE) transitions and practices are conceptual and few, which limits both academics and practitioners’ understanding regarding the practical implications of CE on organisations HR and how these could be managed. This research, therefore, addresses this gap and intends to provide critical, empirical evidence and interpretations of HR and the role of HRM within organisations CE pursuits – using six organisations (case studies). The case studies included in this paper forms about ten per cent of the cases - to be analysed for the second part of the study. These six case studies are selected to facilitate a pilot study, to test the research approach/methods adopted to derive the research findings. Previous research findings on firm-level CE functional areas has predominantly focused on product and process design, supply chain, marketing and sales management; however, analysis of these case studies found that currently, HRM role as a functional area that includes training, recruitment/selection, performance and rewards management process are not captured in firm-level CE transitions. Nonetheless, in terms of a critical perspective of HR and the role of HRM within CE organisations, the analysis of these case studies captured the broader social outcomes such as job creation, improvement in wellbeing and a change in organisational culture. But it remains to be seen if similar trends would be identified within a wider sample of business cases the researchers intend to examine to extend this research.