When publications in English-language journals and areas are characterised by
consensus orientation, what does it look like in the German-speaking area? A review
of conference topics and articles in the Zeitschrift für Personalforschung (ZfP, German
Journal of Human Resource Research) yields similar results to the findings of the
aforementioned publication analyses. In the German-speaking area there is presumably
an even stronger consensus orientation (though there are exceptions, see website
www.http://www.kritische-organisationsforschung.de), as in Great Britain a larger
part of those doing research in HRM do not have a degree in business administration
but in sociology (cf. also Muller-Camen & Salzgeber, 2005). Selection and socialisation
in business administration lead more to a consensus orientation of the scientific community
than those disciplines that are more closely affiliated with the social sciences.
Furthermore, empirical research in CMS is under the suspicion of positivism (Alvesson
& Deetz, 2000) – at least its quantitative types – and is less widespread, so that
there are probably few from this field to be found in the group of empirical researchers.