HRM issues and practices in internal stakeholder management for healthcare: a bibliometric and systematic literature analysis

Effective human resource management (HRM) is a dominant topic of interest owing to its crucial role in both health production and service provision. Despite the recognition of the fundamental Strategic HRM (SHRM) practices, the intellectual structure and direction of research is yet to be fully developed, integrated and practically evolved in response to contemporary developments. Therefore, this study analyses the knowledge structure and evolution of HRM issues and practices in internal stakeholder management (ISM) within healthcare. In this study, we conduct a bibliometric analysis of 477 articles published in the Web of Science database from 2000 to 2024. The articles were synthesised through a qualitative analysis (citation network analysis and a concurrence network of key words). We synthesised 6 clusters that highlighted distinct themes and their respective references using VOS Viewer. Thereafter, a systematic analysis was conducted to identify gaps and synthesize findings. The findings revealed 6 major thematic clusters: (1) HRM Innovation and Work Engagement Practices; (2) Lean Management and Empowerment; (3) Cross-sectoral High Performance Work Systems (HPWS); (4) Work Environment and Patient Satisfaction Factors-high commitment work systems (HCWS); (5) Leadership and Employee Well-being; (6) HRM and Institutional Performance. The analysis confirmed employee well-being, leadership engagement, burn-out and the implementation of HPWS and HCWS as emerging issues in HRM practice. The findings evidence the evolution of HPWS towards a dual integrated model with employee well-being, centrally supported by leadership. We highlight the strategic framing significance of SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being) and SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), in the operationalisation and cascading of public and organisational HRM practices in healthcare. We argue out the managerial tension in managing efficiency and satisfaction based on the influential studies advancing performance and other dominant clusters revealing salience for human capital support. Therefore, the findings uphold the imperative of anchoring (SHRM) practices on engaging leadership, fair compensation practices, employee well-being, robust and responsive support systems. We contribute to enhanced ISM organisational performance and sustainable health-care delivery by bringing to the fore evidence-based insights that supports policy development and effective health-care management.