Employee engagement: Do practitioners care what academics have to say – And should they?

Catherine Bailey

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

23 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Securing high levels of employee engagement has become a dominant concern for HR practitioners globally, and a lucrative survey and consultancy industry has grown up around the topic. Despite significant parallel interest within the scholarly community, it is questionable whether research published in peer-reviewed journals has had any impact on the practice of engagement. The divergent perspectives of academics and practitioners on engagement are explored within the wider context of evidence-based management and the ‘rigor – relevance’ debate, alongside consideration of the risks of presupposing a simplified binary divide between the two communities. Some suggestions for strategies aimed at creating a stronger connection between the interests of practitioners and those of academics are proposed, whilst bearing in mind academia's broader and more critical remit.

Original languageEnglish
Article number100589
Number of pages11
JournalHuman Resource Management Review
Volume32
Issue number1
Early online date30 Dec 2016
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Mar 2022
Externally publishedYes

Cite this