The first part of this special issue contains three contributions, the first of which is by Claes and Heymans. Theirs is a thorough qualitative study into the views that HR professionals in the Flemish part of Belgium hold with regard to the work motivation and retention of older workers. As such, their article tests the validity of two competing models, i.e. the long-adhered depreciation model versus the conservation model (Yeatts et al., 2000). The depreciation model states that older workers’ added value to an organisation declines as they reach the retirement age and consequently considers investment in older workers as costly. Alternatively, the conservation model views all employees, regardless of their age, to be long-lasting organisational assets, worthy of investment. Their data analysis results in five core themes: definition issues, diversity amongst older workers, work motivation, retention policies and practices, and finally contexts of work motivation and organisation retention policies/practices. An elaborate content analysis of their interviews suggests that both cross-national and cross-organisational designs are needed in order to capture this older-workers’ issue in its full complexity.