Big data contributions to human resource management: a systematic review

Big Data (BD) has become a valuable resource for companies. Publications on BD have grown enormously but scholarly work is scarce. The present review aims to systematise the academic inputs so far and to clarify what is the novelty of BD, what are its implications and challenges for HRM practices, and in which HR practice systems the main contributions are. In a systematic search of more than 1,500 documents, we found 41 articles studying BD in Human Resource Management (HRM). Results show that BD means a new approach and methodology to manage data on employees and numerous opportunities for HRM, but also important challenges at a technological, methodological and ethical level. Five main clusters of HR practice systems have been identified, concentrating the largest number of papers in the cluster of information, learning and knowledge and in the cluster of strategy, efficiency and performance, suggesting a trend in the studies that is explained by the nature and characteristics of the BD. The steps to carry out BD projects are described. The main contributions of the BD in each area are described and future research avenues are outlined.