Agile Human Resource Management: A Systematic Mapping Study of Global Research Themes, Geographic Trends, and Research Gaps

Growing in popularity, Agile methodologies have progressively transitioned from software development indistry into human resource management (HRM), yet we still don’t know much about how Agile HR works on a global scale, remaining conceptually fragmented and geographically uneven. To fill this gap, our study analyzed the Agile HRM scholarship based on 2,799 peer-reviewed management articles indexed in Web of Science, using VOSviewer bibliometric techniques on keyword co-occurrence and country-level co-authorship analysis. The findings reveal three dominant knowledge domains: Organisational Agility and People-Centred Management; Resilience, Innovation, and Methodological Practice; and Dynamic Capabilities and Strategic Performance. Geographic analysis highlights the USA as the dominant research hub, with China, India, Brazil, and key European nations forming secondary clusters, while sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia remain critically underrepresented. However, there are still some big gaps in our knowledge, particularly when it comes to implementing Agile HR in developing economies, measuring long-term outcomes, and adapting Agile HR to small and medium-sized businesses. Our study aims to provide a framework for future research, and to identify priorities for advancing Agile HR in underrepresented regions and organizations. By synthesizing what we already know, and highlighting what we still need to learn, we hope to contribute to the growth and development of this exciting field.