ABSTRACT
What drives renewal and innovation in the personnel policies of organisations? Managerial and organisational need? Or a legal imperative of wider society? Or is it the academic community of professionals in university and service firms, offering carefully designed and evaluated products ready for application? The answer must be disappointing and disenchanting. During the last decade, the frequency of challenging opportunities for research and development in HR has been slowing down. Currently some organisations have reopened their gates to allow field research, enabling university staff and consultants to carry out innovative projects beyond mere ‘desk’ research and the provision of short-term solutions. This may lead to an increase of future-oriented and innovative demand, and to a reduction of silent unemployment on the supply side.
