HUMAN RELATIONS Special Issue – Call for Critical Reviews (Targeted for 2026)

Abstract

For over 75 years, Human Relations has published research of the highest quality that extends our knowledge of social relationships at work and organizational forms, practices, and processes that affect the nature, structure, and conditions of work and work organizations. The 'in and around work' part of the journal's aim and, more generally, research that seeks to understand working lives for their betterment has remained an important part of Human Relations' scope and purpose.Human Relations has consistently published research that crosses disciplinary boundaries to develop new perspectives and insights into social relationships and the dynamics between people and organizations. It has promoted research that relates social theory to social practice and translates knowledge about Human Relations into prospects for social action and policy-making that aims to improve working lives.Over the decades that Human Relations has been in circulation, it has published strong empirical contributions that develop and extend theory as well as more conceptual papers that integrate, critique, and expand existing theory. Building on the existing strengths of the journal, we invite submissions to its annual review special issue. The special issue will publish a selection of timely and rigorously executed critical reviews. Critical reviews advance a field through new theory, new methods, a novel synthesis of extant evidence, or a combination of two or three of these elements. Reviews that identify new research questions and that make links between management and organizations and the wider social sciences are particularly welcome. Surveys or overviews of a field are unlikely to meet these criteria.We seek submissions adopting various review methodologies including narrative review, systematic review, meta-synthesis, and meta-analysis. Regardless of the type of review pursued, each contribution must provide significant conceptual or theoretical advancements that offer fresh, forward-thinking research opportunities to advance the existing literature on the topic under study. More specifically, the main contributions should provide new understandings of "human relations" at work and synthesize current theoretical perspectives. Furthermore, contributions that significantly synthesize the current fragmentation across relevant streams of literature and which aim to establish impactful ways 1266781H UM0010.