Introduction

In an era marked by increasing globalization, international competition, digitalization, and social and cultural changes, higher education institutions (HEIs) play a pivotal role in establishing the knowledge-based economy of each country, which is perceived as its soft power. The need to explore and highlight the specificity of human resource management (HRM) practices in higher education institutions has become urgent and evident. This book provides new theoretical and practical insights into HRM in HEIs. A profound analysis of the global literature clearly exposes that human resource practices are often applied in academia as single solutions rather than as a systematic approach to planning, attracting, motivating, developing, and retaining scientists. The global trends in academia, such as the need for branding and positioning in higher education ranking systems, growing retention and brain circulation between academia and business, diversity in academia, and the digitalization of teaching, have resulted in challenges such as de-recruitment, academic burnout and ill-being, and technostress, which are also addressed in this book.