Collective assessment of the human resources management field: Meta-analytic needs and theory development prospects for the future

The other articles in this special issue of Human Resource Management Review present meta-analyses of specific topic areas, or articles on methodological issues associated with meta-analyses, within the human resources management field. Ours is a bit different in that we do not present actual meta-analytic results, but instead conduct a thorough review of the field in order to identify areas where meta-analyses have not been conducted. Then, we discuss why such analyses have not been provided, suggestions for how we might like to see research proceed in such areas, and also implications for theory development in these areas of the field. We conclude our paper with some additional thoughts on issues to keep in mind as we seek to utilize meta-analysis to its fullest potential, and thus yield the best results possible.