An Analysis of Human Resource Management for Knowledge Workers: Using the Three Axes of Target Employee, Lifecycle Stage, and Human Resource Flow

It is more important for companies to manage knowledge workers in the 21st century. However, most organizations give employees little control over their careers, preferring to make placement and promotion decisions without consultation. If companies do not improve the process of human resource flow for knowledge workers, most firms will lose their competitive advantage. Therefore, firms should construct an appropriate human resource flow to attract knowledge workers and improve corporate performance while considering flow patterns. In this paper, we clarify research areas to advance human resource flow management, which is a competitive advantage amongst companies. We created a new matrix to use the three axes of target employee, lifecycle stage, and human resource flow. As a result, the matrix reveals the relevance between areas of research on existing human resource theory and domains that have not yet been studied. We identify areas in the Production Stage of Human Resource Flow, areas in the Retirement Stage of Human Resource Flow, and areas ranging from the Production to Retirement Stage of Internal Flow for Temporary Employees.