𝗔𝗱𝗱𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗨𝗹𝘁𝗿𝗮-𝗟𝗼𝘄 𝗙𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲 𝗦𝗵𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗮𝗴𝗲: 𝗔 𝗛𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻-𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗛𝗥𝗠 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵𝗶𝗰 𝗖𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘀

𝗖𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗣𝗔𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗦

𝗔𝗱𝗱𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗨𝗹𝘁𝗿𝗮-𝗟𝗼𝘄 𝗙𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲 𝗦𝗵𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗮𝗴𝗲: 𝗔 𝗛𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻-𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗛𝗥𝗠 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵𝗶𝗰 𝗖𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘀

𝗝𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹:
The International Journal of Human Resource Management

𝗣𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗿:
Taylor & Francis Group

𝗠𝗮𝗻𝘂𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗽𝘁 𝗦𝘂𝗯𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗪𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗼𝘄:
1 September 2026 – 30 November 2026

𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗜𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲

Ultra-low fertility, defined as a total fertility rate (TFR) of 1.3 or lower, has emerged as a major global demographic challenge affecting countries across East Asia, Europe, North America, and Oceania. Declining fertility rates and shrinking workforces are creating significant economic and organizational pressures, including labour shortages, reduced productivity, and increasing costs of talent acquisition and retention.

This demographic shift is transforming Human Resource Management (HRM) from a support function into a strategic imperative. Organizations worldwide are increasingly adopting innovative HR practices such as family-friendly policies, work-life balance initiatives, inclusive hiring strategies, and AI-enabled workforce planning to address demographic scarcity and build resilient, sustainable workforces.

This Special Issue seeks to advance scholarly understanding of the HRM implications of ultra-low fertility and workforce shrinkage. It invites rigorous theoretical and empirical contributions that examine how organizations can respond through human-centered, inclusive, and adaptive HRM strategies.

𝗧𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁

Submissions may address, but are not limited to:

• Family-friendly HRM policies and their impact on fertility decisions and employee retention
• Work-life balance challenges and workplace cultures affecting family planning
• Gender inequality, parental leave policies, and childcare support systems
• Cultural expectations, traditional gender roles, and fertility behaviour
• Flexible work arrangements, including remote work and reduced working hours
• Upskilling and reskilling strategies to address workforce shrinkage and skill shortages
• Inclusive benefits such as childcare support, eldercare programs, and fertility treatments
• Workforce diversity initiatives involving women, older workers, and immigrant populations
• International recruitment strategies and long-term talent pipeline development
• Human-centered AI applications for workforce management and productivity enhancement
• AI-assisted work-life balance solutions and personalized parental support systems
• AI-enabled servant leadership and psychological safety in family planning decisions
• Digital twin modelling for career-family planning and HR decision-making
• AI and automation strategies to address labour shortages and optimize workforce management
• Comparative and cross-national studies on fertility-related HRM challenges and responses

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗜𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀

Demographic decline is reshaping labour markets and challenging traditional assumptions about workforce availability and human capital management. Organizations can no longer rely on conventional talent strategies and must rethink how they attract, retain, and support employees in increasingly resource-constrained environments.

This Special Issue aims to generate new theoretical perspectives and practical insights into how organizations can respond to demographic scarcity through innovative, human-centered HRM approaches. The findings will contribute to the development of sustainable workforce strategies that balance organizational competitiveness with employee wellbeing and societal needs.

𝗚𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗘𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀

Ingyu Oh
Kansai Gaidai University, Japan
Email: oingyu@kansaigaidai.ac.jp

Jie Wu
University of Aberdeen, United Kingdom
Email: jie.wu@abdn.ac.uk

Ho Kwong Kwan
China Europe International Business School (CEIBS), China
Email: kwanhokwong@ceibs.edu

Hyun Jeong Kim
Inha University, South Korea
Email: kimhj@inha.ac.kr

𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗘𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀

Ingyu Oh is a Professor at Kansai Gaidai University whose research focuses on demographic change, migration, labour markets, and comparative social policy in East Asia.

Jie Wu is a scholar at the University of Aberdeen with research interests in international human resource management, organizational behaviour, and workforce sustainability.

Ho Kwong Kwan is a Professor at China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) and is internationally recognized for his research on leadership, employee wellbeing, organizational behaviour, and strategic human resource management.

Hyun Jeong Kim is a faculty member at Inha University whose research focuses on human resource management, organizational psychology, and workforce diversity and inclusion.

𝗦𝘂𝗯𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗚𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀

• Select the Special Issue title when submitting the manuscript through ScholarOne.
• Comparative and cross-national studies are particularly encouraged.
• Contributions may include theoretical, empirical, and interdisciplinary perspectives on demographic challenges and HRM responses.
• All manuscripts will undergo a rigorous double-blind peer-review process.

𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗝𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹

The International Journal of Human Resource Management is a leading international journal that publishes high-quality research on strategic human resource management, organizational behaviour, employment relations, and people management practices across diverse international contexts. The journal promotes theoretically rigorous and practically relevant research that advances understanding of global HRM challenges and opportunities.

𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗦𝗲𝘁𝘂 𝗔𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗰𝘀 — 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗲𝗿 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗔𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗢𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 & 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

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