Addressing Big Societal Challenges in HRM Research: A Society–Actors–Processes–Policy Framework

The paper advances a new society–actors–processes–policy (SAPP) framework to aid policy-makers and management scholars in addressing big societal challenges. A new sensitizing framework is developed by evaluating and extending policy debates presented in management and employment journals linked to societal challenges. SAPP contributes to policy, practice, and management theory by offering a novel perspective to conceptualize and examine the relationship between organizations, people management, policy-making, and big societal challenges across micro, meso, and macro levels. The framework supports more meaningful theorizing to a wider public community by encouraging dialogue between academics, policy-makers, and other stakeholders. SAPP’s conceptual contributions link theory with policy and place management, and human resource management scholars in a stronger agenda-setting position to impact future equitable and sustainable policy making.