An examination of the research–practice gap in HR: Comparing topics of interest to HR academics and HR professionals

Over 4300 articles published in four HR-focused journals over a 20-year period of time were content analyzed according to topic area (indicator of interest area) and journal orientation (HR research versus HR practice). Analyses suggest that there were numerous interest area gaps between HR professionals and academics and that the magnitude of those gaps varied across topic areas. The gap regarding Compensation & Rewards was consistently large, with the interests of professionals far exceeding that of academics for the entire 20 years of analysis (approximately 14% of all articles in the professional journals, versus approximately 2% of all articles published in the academic journals). In contrast, the gap regarding OB & Motivation-related topics was consistently large with more than 16% of all articles in the academic journals on this topic, compared to less than 4% of all articles in the professional journals. These findings, along with suggestions for better understanding and closing the gap, are discussed.