Artificial intelligence – challenges and opportunities for international HRM: a review and research agenda

Artificial intelligence (AI) and other AI-based applications are being integrated into firms’ human resource management (HRM) approaches for managing people in domestic and international organisations. The last decade has seen a growth in AI-based applications proliferating the HRM function, triggering an exciting new stream of research on topics such as the social presence of AI and robotics, effects of AI adoption on individual and business level outcomes, and evaluating AI-enabled HRM practices. Adopting these technologies has resulted in how work is organised in local and international firms, noting opportunities for employees and firms’ resource utilisation, decision-making, and problem-solving. However, despite a growing interest in scholarship, research on AI-based technologies for HRM is limited and fragmented. Further research is needed that analyses the role of AI-assisted applications in HRM functions and human-AI interactions in large multinational enterprises diffusing such innovations. In response to these combined issues—the fragmented nature of research and limited extant literature, we present a systematic review on the theme of this special issue and offer a nuanced understating of what is known, yet to be known, and future research directions to frame a future research agenda for international HRM. We develop a conceptual framework that integrates research on AI applications in HRM and offers a cohesive base for future research endeavours. We also develop a set of testable propositions that serve as directions for future research.