532091

research-article2014
ADHXXX10.1177/1523422314532091Advances in Developing Human ResourcesBennett

Preface
Advances in Developing Human
Resources
Introducing New Perspectives 2014, Vol. 16(3) 263­–280
© The Author(s) 2014
on Virtual Human Resource Reprints and permissions:
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Development DOI: 10.1177/1523422314532091
adhr.sagepub.com

Elisabeth E. Bennett1

Abstract
The Problem.
Initial explorations of virtual human resource development (VHRD) were published
in the 12(6) issue of Advances, but these articles were only an initial step toward
conceptualization. New perspectives on VHRD have developed over the past 4 years,
particularly about human resource development’s (HRD) role in the development of
new technology.
The Solution.
This article provides a brief overview of existing published literature on VHRD, offers
new conceptualizations of HRD’s role with technology development, and introduces
the articles in this issue that advance their own new perspectives. This article argues
that HRD must adopt new skills and develop explanatory models for growing
organizational learning capacity in virtual work.
The Stakeholders.
This article is of interest to practitioners and managers who lead technology projects
and work within technology-enabled professional environments, as well as scholars
interested in studying VHRD.

Keywords
virtual HRD, VHRD, human resources, technology development, informal learning

A major change in how many organizations regard technology was described as mov-
ing away from a limited view of technology as a physical artifact with its own inde-
pendent realm of action, and moving toward a systems-centered view that allows

1Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA

Corresponding Author:
Elisabeth E. Bennett, Northeastern University, Graduate School of Education, 50NI, 360 Huntington
Ave., Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Email: el.bennett@neu.edu

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264 Advances in Developing Human Resources 16(3)

greater understanding of complexity, professional lifeworld, and application driven by

an organization’s vision for technology (Dierkes, Marz, & Teele, 2003). Vision guides
one’s orientation toward future innovation based on perception as well as material fact.
This change is evident in networked or webbed information technology (IT) systems.
Rogers (1983) described technology as a design for action that lessens uncertainty for
accomplishing desired outcomes. Design originates in the mind, and it is particularly
relevant to the present discussion of virtual human resource development (VHRD),
especially as the field of human resource development (HRD) considers how to design
environments for optimal learning within technology (Bennett, 2010) that helps man-
age uncertainty and achieve outcomes.
There is no one definition of HRD, but it can be characterized as the integration of
career development, organization development, and training (Marsick & Watkins,
1994; McLagan, 1989; Watkins, 1989) for the purpose of developing learning capacity
(Watkins, 1989), and unleashing expertise to improve individual and organizational
performance (R. A. Swanson, 1995; R. A. Swanson & Holton, 2001). These defini-
tional facets demonstrate two important points. First, HRD professionals use a combi-
nation of ideas, techniques, and approaches in practice. Second, learning is important
for performance at multiple organizational levels, from the individual to larger collec-
tives. Nadler and Wiggs (1986) identified HRD as a learning system that uses formal
learning, such as classroom-based and simulated learning activities that foster vicari-
ous learning, as well as informal learning, such as experiential and job-based learning.
In practice, building a system of learning in an organization involves negotiating with
multiple stakeholders who have vested interest in the system. The acceptance of new
technology and achieving utility means involving the user in design choices at various
iterative stages (Ivergård & Hunt, 2004); however, organizations must have the learn-
ing capacity to cope with changes brought by technology (Dierkes et al., 2003).
Moving beyond basic acceptance, organizations may focus on the strategic and some-
times challenging aspects of today’s complex systems. Increasingly, computers and
various ITs mediate learning systems and create portals for work within virtual envi-
ronments. What happens in a virtual environment is integral to VHRD.
VHRD does not supplant traditional definitions and practices in the field (Bennett,
2010); however, VHRD is not simply tacking virtual onto HRD. Rather, it shifts the
paradigm of HRD practice (Bennett, 2010; McWhorter, 2010) to new frontiers where
the imaginative mind combines with technology to extend the capability of people and
their organizations. It is difficult to imagine how to unleash human expertise (R. A.
Swanson, 1995; R. A. Swanson & Holton, 2001) in a comprehensive way without
considering technology in today’s workplace. The advent of the graphical user inter-
face opened the digital door of inclusion for people outside of IT departments to easily
use complex systems run by unseen programming code (Bennett, 2006). There are
now more stakeholders to balance in an interconnected system. Two findings from an
HRD futures survey demonstrated that respondents were concerned with how to har-
ness technology’s potential and how to integrate technology with learning theory
(Ruona, Lynham, & Chermack, 2003). These concerns are still relevant and, in a sense,
embodied in conceptualizations of VHRD.

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Bennett 265

This issue of Advances is dedicated to providing new perspectives on VHRD. By

way of introduction to new perspectives, this article addresses defining aspects of
VHRD, provides a brief overview of existing published literature on VHRD, offers
conceptualizations of HRD’s role with technology development, and introduces the
articles in this issue that advance their own new perspectives. This article includes
explanatory ideas from literature as well as examples from practice.

Defining VHRD
The articles for this issue adopted one definition of VHRD, which is a “media rich and
culturally relevant webbed environment that strategically improves expertise, perfor-
mance, innovation, and community-building through formal and informal learning”
(Bennett, 2009, p. 364). The roots of this definition are detailed in Bennett and
McWhorter (in press), but critical components of it include focusing on the environ-
ment VHRD creates and identifying both formal and informal learning as essential
processes. Informal learning is theorized to be the stronger partner of the learning
processes because of the amount of daily work and interaction members may have
within an organization’s virtual environment (Bennett, 2009; Bennett & Bierema,
2010). VHRD focuses on the virtual environment that fosters learning, including expe-
riential and job-based learning.
Informal learning includes incidental learning stemming from interpersonal inter-
action, perceiving organizational culture, experimentation, and task completion
(Marsick & Watkins, 1990). In one study that addressed learning and technology,
Spitler (2005) found experimentation and social interaction among peers was more
significant for learning new technology than formal training. The author noted that
members did not seek out the help of IT support staff, and she concluded that mecha-
nisms other than formal training are needed for effective use of technology. Increasingly,
social interaction and experimentation are mediated by IT. Formal learning is still
important, such as online training; however, VHRD is neither simply training people
to use technology nor solely teaching through online programs. There is far greater
complexity with conceptualizations of VHRD as a virtual environment, rather than
just focusing on the discrete pieces within a system. The following section provides a
brief overview of existing published literature in VHRD.

Existing VHRD Perspectives

Interest in VHRD has grown since the December 2010 issue of Advances that explored
VHRD as a construct (McWhorter & Bennett, 2010). The issue served as a founda-
tional discussion because there were very few prior publications addressing it as a
focus of inquiry. Inquiry into VHRD has now been embedded in conference tracks of
the Academy of Human Resource Development and the University Forum for Human
Resource Development, which is a sign that it is a developing trend in HRD. Although
few HRD professionals would argue that technology has not impacted practice, study-
ing this impact on our field is nascent. Previous discussions have often

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266 Advances in Developing Human Resources 16(3)

taken a discrete, tool-based approach (Bennett, 2010; McWhorter, 2010), rather than a
systems perspective, or technology has been absent in the accounts of practice alto-
gether (see Fagan, 2014).
The paradigm shift that VHRD represents for the field (Bennett, 2010; McWhorter,
2010) looks beyond discrete processes toward the complexity of virtual environments
within which people work and learn (Bennett, 2009; Bennett & Bierema, 2010). The
virtual workplace is now quite common as people use technologies to create virtual
spaces (Bennett, 2006, 2009), and these spaces offer a place to connect within, not just
through technology (McWhorter, 2010). Therefore, new perspectives are needed to
expand the discussion and capture the complexity of VHRD. In review of the 2010
issue, one might conclude the articles were tentative conceptualizations, rather than
working from a common definition or shared constructs.
The literature was heavily influenced by training and online education perspec-
tives, such as adult learning in Second Life (Mancuso, Chlup, & McWhorter, 2010),
authentic assessment in three-dimensional (3D) worlds (Chapman & Stone, 2010),
systematizing and managing employee learning online (Huang, Han, Park, & Seo,
2010; Yoon & Lim, 2010), and conceptualizing transfer of external learning to an
organization’s virtual environment (Bennett, 2010). Nafukho, Graham, and Muyia
(2010) addressed measuring human capital in VHRD, and Bennett and Bierema (2010)
added the perspective of interaction and learning in an ecology that can be constrained
by differing expectations of management, HRD, and employees.
An aim of this issue is to move beyond equating VHRD with online training and to
provide a forum for the latest ideas and constructs that increase the value of VHRD for
organizational work. The next section furthers conceptualization of VHRD and intro-
duces technology development as an important area of practice.

Further Conceptualization of VHRD

In virtual work, people interact not only with each other but also with objects and vari-
ous forms of media that have embedded values (Bennett, 2009). These values may be
articulated or they may be implicit in the content and design of a system. A review of
Management Information Systems (MIS) literature found that IT professionals have
their own values that are designed into technical systems, which can be a source of
organizational conflict (Leidner & Kayworth, 2006). As more work is mediated
through IT, some sources of conflict may be relieved, such as when users are involved
in design, and some conflict may increase as a natural by-product of more people
inputting into the same system. These conflicts are inherent in the environment of
VHRD.
Work is hybridized between the local, physical environment and the virtual envi-
ronment (Bennett & Bierema, 2010), which subsequently changes the nature of what
it means to develop people in technology-enabled organizations. VHRD focuses on
the totality and complexity of learning and working within a networked virtual envi-
ronment, which houses activity from the individual level to the largest collective level.
The local particulars and the big picture of the virtual environment are at once

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Bennett 267

Figure 1.  IGO-Time Model.

Note. IGO = individual, group, and organizational levels; VHRD = virtual human resource development.

important. As a construct, VHRD is not an object one can put arms around, and it
overlaps with other constructs of technology, such as virtual human resource (HR;
Bennett & Bierema, 2010; Bennett & McWhorter, in press). There is virtually no limit
to what can be added to the virtual environment, given enough servers and network
nodes.
To further conceptualization of complexity in VHRD, Figure 1 represents a model
called the IGO-Time Model. IGO stands for individual, group, and organizational lev-
els. The model includes aforementioned definitional aspects of VHRD, which are
expanded in the list below:

•• A webbed or networked environment that incorporates rich media

•• Cultural values and assumptions for design, use, and interaction within the
environment
•• Strategic alignment with organizational mission at all levels (individual, group,
and organizational)
•• Typical outcomes for HRD, including but not limited to improvement of perfor-
mance (both individual and organizational), development of expertise and inno-
vation, and community building

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268 Advances in Developing Human Resources 16(3)

•• Essential processes of formal learning (training) and informal learning (every-

day learning)

Figure 1 also demonstrates that VHRD involves time simultaneity of past, present,
and future. The virtual environment includes repositories of past materials and prob-
lem-solving products. It also includes current, real-time interaction, as well future
plans, goals, and deadlines. The stories of yesteryear, the work of today, and the stra-
tegic plans for tomorrow may exist within one system, reminding members of where
the organization has been, where it is at present, and where it intends to go.
The IGO-Time Model shows that multiple organizational levels are represented in
the same system, including individual, group, and organizational levels. Information
can be used simultaneously for both individual and organizational purposes (see
Bennett, 2014). For example, an organization can compare future leadership needs
with the credentials and talents of individuals in a succession planning system. From
there, managers and HRD professionals may create development plans to prepare
potential leaders through training and new work experiences. Their accomplishments
and growth are captured in the system for further workforce analysis. Individual met-
rics, then, aggregate (if designed so) to the group or organizational levels, and these
collective aggregates can influence plans for individual learning and performance
activities. Thus, Figure 1 shows bidirectional arrows up and down the levels.
The capacity to integrate multiple levels, activities, and time perspectives not only
creates complexity in VHRD but also makes VHRD more instrumental for strategic
alignment. Because VHRD simultaneously addresses the individual and the collective
levels aligned by strategy, it reflects HRD’s focus on levels of intervention and change.
It also recognizes the integrated or networked nature of modern technologies. The
IGO-Time Model shows a stylized view, but organizational reality is another matter.
Negativity and inequity identified by Bennett and Bierema (2010) may hinder multi-
tiered development in a virtual environment. This leads us to consider how a webbed
virtual environment is a learning environment.

Learning Environments and the Concept of Webbing In

In the United States, more and more high school classes are expected to be placed
online in the next decade (Christensen, Horn, & Johnson, 2008), which affects the
prior learning experiences with technology of prospective employees. New genera-
tions of employees are already entering the workforce with existing technology skills
and expectations for technology use (Reeves & Read, 2009). As a private knowledge
network, an intranet provides the backbone for VHRD in an organization (Bennett,
2009) because it networks people and software applications, including portals to the
Internet. A learning environment is built over time as more applications, people, and
digital objects are incorporated into a system, which this article calls webbing in.
Webbing in is a preferable term to linking to, which is a more common term in practice
but less representative of the virtual environment for VHRD. When we speak of link-
ing one thing to another, the items maintain separateness, but webbing in

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Bennett 269

acknowledges that a new digital item becomes part of the virtual environment of the
organization.
For readers less familiar with corporate technology systems, an example of web-
bing in can be found in the analogy of an online learning course. If one were to make
a list of all the ingredients that make up a successful online learning experience, what
would be on the list? A dedicated and knowledgeable teacher might be at the top.
Factors that affect the total experience might be on the list, such as quality materials,
course organization and navigation, inspirational graphics, authentic assignments,
tools for students to post their ideas and materials to the virtual classroom, and sup-
portive interaction with peers and instructors. The experience of the course has much
to do with what the designer has webbed into the environment and the resulting gestalt
of the course when all things are taken into account, including the learners. Two
courses with similar content could have very different learning environments because
there are many variables and idiosyncrasies of design. For organizational work, the
complexity is increased dramatically because more people are using the system for
more activities over a longer period of time.
3D virtual worlds can be webbed into organizational systems as part of VHRD. For
example, Andrade et al. (2011) incorporated a virtual world to teach and to evaluate
the skills of geriatric fellows. Fellows are advanced physicians-in-training who study
under experts at academic medical centers or clinics. In the article, the authors demon-
strated how learners use an avatar to navigate through a fairly realistic 3D home to
look for hazards to elderly patients. Technical interface with internal systems made the
virtual world part of the organization’s virtual environment. Fellows were given feed-
back on performance that can also be placed in their electronic performance records.
Although this study described the technology as a virtual world, it had the characteris-
tics of a game.
Serious games have been recommended in VHRD as way to deliver learning exer-
cises through technical systems to employees at their location of work (Huang et al.,
2010). A serious game is defined as “a learning tool that incorporates game technology
for the purpose of achieving learning objectives other than for pure entertainment”
(Yusoff, Crowder, & Gilbert, 2010, p. 45). Given the flexibility of webbing technol-
ogy, games can be built within a corporation or by using an external resource that is
webbed into the corporate system through technical interfaces. At the point of inter-
face, there may be supporting materials and instructions that help an employee make
meaning of the virtual activity (Bennett, 2010). Reeves and Read (2009) stated that
gaming and virtual worlds are good options for engaging employees and fostering
effective teams, because the competition they inspire is compelling for learning and
excellent performance. They noted that younger generations are already entering the
workplace with work-ready skills through gaming, such as leadership and team skills,
and the authors expect the US$73 billion organizations spend yearly on collaboration
systems to continue to grow (see also McWhorter & Lynham, 2014, for examples of
how gamification techniques are paired with social networking for implementing stra-
tegic processes such as virtual scenario planning [VSP]).

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270 Advances in Developing Human Resources 16(3)

The most intensive interaction and knowledge construction tends to occur within
technology when a community forms (Ardichvilli, 2002). In addition, the competition
mentioned by Reeves and Read (2009) could conceivably go too far and undermine
community building that is an important outcome in VHRD (Bennett, 2009; Bennett
& McWhorter, in press). VHRD can include anything and everything already men-
tioned, and so HRD must address its role in designing and developing technology.

VHRD and Technology Development

A new perspective in VHRD is HRD’s role in developing technology so that it creates
an effective environment for VHRD. When we speak of technology, most often infor-
mation and communication or digital technologies are indicated, although other non-
digital technologies can be considered as well. For example, life-like patient simulators
are used to train physicians in simulation education, which involves both formal and
informal learning (Bennett, 2011). In practice, simulation encounters can be live
streamed and video recorded for supervisors and learners to review performance.
Technology development does not have to be limited to digital technologies, but digi-
tal technologies are more likely to be used for learning and collaboration in a webbed
virtual environment. Thomas and Akdere (2011) recommended that HRD design
informal learning opportunities using social media, which they suggest be renamed
collaborative media when used in organizations. Systems should be designed to create
the conditions for informal learning (Bennett, 2010; Bennett & Bierema, 2010; Ebner,
Lienhardt, Rohs, & Meyer, 2010; Kyndt, Dochy, & Nijs, 2009), which includes open-
ness, exploration, opinion sharing, and self-directed learning (Ebner et al., 2010).
The field must further consider HRD’s role in developing, implementing, and
working within virtual environments, especially given the networked or webbed nature
of modern technologies. New technologies are increasingly complex and they are
often used for multiple purposes. They may mediate the work of a distributed team, on
one hand, and they may also be used to collect data for management decision-making,
on the other hand. Thus, they must be built with multiple perspectives and utilities in
mind. For example, Bennett and Bierema (2010) discussed the visibility of telecom-
muting employees, and ensuring equity in the career development of all employees
regardless of location or work arrangement. Although telecommuting was once con-
sidered a perk, and perhaps still is in some cases, extranets and mobile technologies,
such as smart phones and laptops, have made serendipitous telecommuting almost
expected when one is traveling to a conference or remote work site. Some organiza-
tions may consider telecommuting as a way to save physical plant and infrastructure
costs, or a part of disaster recovery plans. Although smaller organizations may not
have the infrastructure that larger organizations do, it is relatively common in practice
for technical systems to be backed up at off-site storage facilities, which would allow
them to reestablish operations in an emergency or disaster.
When organizations create and implement technology, they often use formal learn-
ing once the implementation is near completion, which allows employees who use the
new systems to be trained closer to when they must apply new skills. This may involve
the training department in some form or fashion, but it is not necessarily strategic if we

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Bennett 271

Figure 2.  Integrating technology development in HRD.

Note. HRD = human resource development.

recognize that fostering daily informal learning should be designed into technology on
the front-end. Informal learning is important for collaboration and professional devel-
opment but it is often overlooked. Software engineers may design technology for a
given work purpose but not understand the true use and power of new technologies
until they see how people adapt and utilize new technology. Thus, there is a dynamic
between development of technology and how people will actually use it.
An operational aspect of VHRD is termed Technology Development, which can be
integrated with career development, organization development, and training and
development (Bennett, 2010). Figure 2 is a representation of integrating technology
development within HRD, and it depicts two modes of technology development. The
representation helps conceptualize when technology plays a supporting role and when
it is the focus of intervention. In the latter, HRD may employ time-honored techniques
and may also seek to adopt or adapt new techniques and theories, such as conducting
a usability study (for an example, see T. A. Swanson & Green, 2011). Consistent with
the view that HRD should build learning capacity (Watkins, 1989), technology devel-
opment integrates technology with traditional HRD processes and activities to improve
learning capacity as well as performance (Bennett & McWhorter, in press; McWhorter
& Bennett, 2014), and, thus, it blends imagination and a webbed environment to make
VHRD truly virtual.
Although VHRD is a construct with an idealized environmental view, technology
development is tactical. There are at least two modes in which technology develop-
ment impacts HRD practice. The first mode of technology development adapts tech-
nology to support HRD interventions and processes in practice. This is more of a

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272 Advances in Developing Human Resources 16(3)

tool-level focus that provides support for development and change initiatives. Online
training is a clear example of this mode as is using social media (see Thomas &
Akdere, 2011). A recent example of HRD’s role in technology development is Short’s
(2013) case study of implementing a large, multi-day orientation program by adapting
a commercially available 3D virtual world. The case involved analytic questions that
guided not only the development of the technology to meet program needs but also
how research was incorporated to enhance the adaptation. For example, Short (2013)
noted how Bardzell and Odom (2008) recommended designing 3D environments to
support the social, emotional, and personal constructions of meaning. This advice was
followed by creating a student center with a virtual coffee shop and fun activities that
enhanced social interaction. There are not only cognitive aspects of virtual environ-
ments but also personal and social aspects to metacognition, which is self-regulated
learning (Garrison & Akyol, 2013) or thinking about how one thinks about learning
encounters.
Electronic portfolios are another example because they may act as a digital resume,
and they can be used in the development of employees to assess performance and to
generate data-driven learning gaps (Bennett, McWhorter, & Sankey, 2012; McWhorter
& Bennett, 2011, 2012). In another practice example, I have used virtual forum threads
to create a SWOT analysis (SWOT: internal Strengths and Weaknesses, external
Opportunities and Threats) in which clinicians posted ideas to address and improve
pain management practices in a tertiary care hospital (for more on this technique, see
Ghazinoory, Abdi, & Azadegan-Mehr, 2011). The advantage of conducting the SWOT
analysis online was members on different shifts and at different locations could par-
ticipate asynchronously and they built ideas off of each other’s postings over time. The
content was already digitized, which aided analysis of the results.
Interestingly, unlike other SWOT’s I have done, there was a distinct desire in this
community to see each other’s names and titles, rather than post anonymously. The
clinicians’ identities were authenticated through the network, which was tied to data
fields in their continuing education records. They could apply for continuing educa-
tion credit for participating. Had they wished to be anonymous, special programming
would have been required to hide their identities. This serves as an example of the
logistics that arise when blending technology with existing techniques in HRD. It also
underscores cultural relevance in VHRD, knowing what a community expects, and
adapting the technology to them where possible. One constraint was a limitation of the
forum technology. Each time participants posted, their thread moved to the top of the
page. Few people followed the SWOT order, which might have affected how they
answered each conceptual factor. The technical issue could not be fixed before imple-
mentation. Instead, definitions were added to each thread so participants knew which
items were internal factors and which were external factors of the SWOT analysis.
Integrating technology into HRD practice involves both knowing the underlying
premise of the initiative as well as the technical skills to make the initiative happen (or
at least enough technical knowledge to work with a technologist). The first mode is
fairly common in HRD, although we may not explicitly discuss how technologies
affect our work in HRD.

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Bennett 273

The second mode applies HRD techniques, processes, and models to ensure orga-
nizational needs are met strategically during and after design and implementation of
new technology. In this mode, traditional techniques and processes in HRD lend a
supporting role for innovation and the development of emerging technology.
Implementation of technology may involve working with commercial vendors or
internal programmers to customize software systems. A few examples include improv-
ing work flow in customer service (Doherty & Perry, 2001), Enterprise Resource
Planning (Trunick, 1999; Wood & Caldas, 2001; Yusuf, Gunasekaran, & Abthorpe,
2004), payroll systems on intranets (Ivergård & Hunt, 2004), and the widespread
implementation of electronic medical records in the United States (Boonstra &
Broekhuis, 2010). To help integrate systems in a meaningful way, HRD practitioners
need to be strategic, work within the culture of the organization (and possibly change
the culture), and to partner with information systems specialists. Dierkes et al. (2003)
proposed that organizations have visions for technology that “open certain horizons of
perception, thinking, and decision-making, and preclude others” (p. 284), which helps
members imagine how a technology can be used. They further noted that truly innova-
tive cultures question how they learn when considering new technology and this act of
inquiry may change the culture.
Unfortunately, there have been high profile and costly cases of technology failure
(Bennett & McWhorter, in press). Arnold (1996) indicated that technology failure was
a problem for HRD, not just for management or IT departments. Already existing
models may help with aspects of technology development. The Technology Acceptance
Model (TAM), for example, is based on social psychology theory (Davis, Bagozzi, &
Warshaw, 1989) and it may help predict users’ acceptance of new technology based on
their perceptions of usefulness and effortless use. This model, however, was built
when computers were not widely in use and it removed social norms from the equation
in its original form. More recently, this model has been adapted for measuring inten-
tions in the use of online language learning community, and researchers have noted
TAM is a very general model that does not guide technology design specific to particu-
lar contexts or professions (Liu, Chen, Sun, Wible, & Kuo, 2010; Mathieson, 1991).
Explanatory models that have come from MIS and other disciplines may have differ-
ing values, perspectives, and frames of reference than HRD.
Transformational learning theory indicates there may be epistemic, socio-cultural,
and psychic distortions in meaning perspectives that are acquired often uncritically
through socialization (Mezirow, 1990), which may affect how people learn in a virtual
environment. Distortions in meaning perspectives influence future learning.
Overcoming distortions is an act of emancipation when fundamental assumptions
about one’s knowledge are questioned and altered (Mezirow, 1990) by using reflective
questions to critique meaning made through media (Bateman, Teevan, & White, 2012;
Brookfield, 1990). Artificial neural networks have been used to help organizational
members visualize perceptions of others during change process (Baets, Brunenberg, &
van Wezel, 1998), which may help model underlying tacit assumptions and identify
points of correction when developing technology.

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274 Advances in Developing Human Resources 16(3)

As Davis et al. (1989) noted, implementing new technology is inherently risky.

Technology implementation is fraught with glitches; all one has to do is turn on the
nightly news to hear the latest story about problems with health care exchanges in the
United States. Success is dependent on having a clear scope, involving essential stake-
holders, designing, and testing, but these tasks enact an organization’s vision for tech-
nology that may be either stagnant or innovative (Dierkes et al., 2003). HRD can help
create a new vision for technology that involves growing learning capacity for present
and future needs, as well as assist with change process to reach toward the vision. Task
analysis, organizational diagnosis, team training, action learning, and uncovering cul-
tural conflicts are just a few offerings that can be used to discover design flaws and
make recommendations for changes in new systems.
HRD professionals have an opportunity to play an important role in the design of
new technologies to solve organizational problems, particularly by bringing the per-
spective of learning to the planning phases. As Liu et al. (2010) found, design had the
most significant impact on perceived usefulness of the online learning community
program. There is a danger of developmental processes being out of step when needs
for new business concepts and new skills are identified, but time lags make implemen-
tation unwieldy (Ivergård & Hunt, 2004). Both individual and group learning are nec-
essary for knowledge production (Firestone & McElroy, 2003); therefore, design
should promote learning in a virtual environment that supports knowledge production
at multiple levels. HRD’s strength can be found in addressing learning at all levels. To
continue the discussion, the next section addresses how the articles in this issue offer
new perspectives.

New Perspective on VHRD: The Articles

New perspectives on VHRD have been advanced by this article, and the articles fol-
lowing this introduction offer their own insights into VHRD. One theme that crosses
several of the articles is the need to balance the social and the technical in VHRD.
Thomas (2014) and Bennett (2014) draw on theories of organizational culture for
understanding organizational values for learning and performance, as well expecta-
tions for access through corporate information systems. Fagan (2014) recommends
viewing technology as a combination of the social and material, which is a more holis-
tic approach similar to the gestalt of VHRD described in this article.
Novel applications of VHRD are also addressed in this issue. McWhorter and
Lynham (2014) present an initial conceptualization of how constructs in VHRD and
the scenario planning process inform VSP. VSP is one way to build present and future
learning capacity, helping to prepare leaders for potential future realities. Germain and
McGuire (2014) model barriers and identify enablers of swift trust in virtual teams,
including the role of prior cognition in developing trust when no close relationship
exists among team members. Ausburn and Ausburn (2014) review theories and capa-
bilities of screen-based virtual reality environments, which are 3D applications in
which users control actions. Their article highlights the need for fidelity in virtual
technologies to foster motivation to engage and experience VHRD. Fidelity, or

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Bennett 275

similarity to the real world, helps people suspend disbelief in simulated and virtual
settings (Bennett, 2011) and it is designed into technology during development. Each
contribution in this issue addressed technology development in some form or fashion,
and themes across the articles are analyzed by McWhorter (2014) in the culminating
article. McWhorter (2014) found that each of the articles in this issue of Advances
gave further support for VHRD and emerging themes therein suggested Technology
Development is a valuable contribution to the field of HRD.

Implications and Significance of the Issue

The field of HRD is at an historic point in which we can demonstrate value and rele-
vance to the modern, technology-enabled organization. Many in the field of HRD have
sought a balance between the needs of the individual and the needs of the collective
for learning and performance. Both management and HRD needs are often embedded
in the same virtual systems (Bennett & Bierema, 2010), but HRD has been late to
incorporate technology strategically in practice and in academic preparation programs
(Bennett & McWhorter, in press). One implication is that HRD academic programs
can add technology development by considering the two modes of technology devel-
opment, particularly skills associated with the second mode. Skills should move
beyond using presentation software, and include basic web design, possibly with some
experience with web programming language. General knowledge of databases and
network infrastructure would help future practitioners picture interconnections in
VHRD, and project management skills may help address the challenges of implemen-
tation. One option for students to gain experience in designing technical interventions
is to partner with students in IT and Business on collaborative field projects (Bennett
& McWhorter, in press; McWhorter, 2014).
Because virtual environments are complex, new skills for HRD professionals are
needed, such as visual-spatial skills and the ability to conceptualize downstream
processes, systems, and potential unintended consequences (Bennett & Bierema,
2010). These new skills allow an HRD professional to act as a bridge between tech-
nologists and users (Bennett & McWhorter, in press). Another implication is HRD
professionals should consider how to develop learning capacity in organizations
they serve, including how to build more social interaction, experimentation, and
avenues for informal learning, such as collaborative media and serious games.
Literature supports addressing continuous learning through everyday work experi-
ences within and outside of technology (Bennett, 2009, 2010; Bennett & Bierema,
2010; Ivergård & Hunt, 2004; Marsick & Watkins, 1990; Mulholland, Zdrahal, &
Domingue, 2005; Spitler, 2005).
Although formal training is often needed during technology implementation, HRD
professionals can establish a role earlier in a technology development project, such as
running focus groups and modeling new processes (Bennett, 2013). The diagnostic
tools and frames of reference HRD professionals offer may help an organization think
differently about the way technology is developed. Analysis may help determine at
each step whether the user should adapt to the technology or whether the technology

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276 Advances in Developing Human Resources 16(3)

should adapt to the user. The skills and competencies HRD offers might prevent very
costly system failures described by Trunick (1999), Wood and Caldas (2001), and
Yusuf et al. (2004). The aim is to make implementation more strategic, not just
possible.
This article recommended analyzing VHRD from the perspective of time simulta-
neity and multiple organizational levels, which may help build present and future
learning capacity. Building toward future learning capacity requires flexibility, cre-
ativity, and a vision for future business objectives. Sometimes this means slowing
down the process to ask reflective questions that query underlying premises about a
project. In practice, HRD professionals need experience with technology and an
understanding of explanatory models that guide how they integrate technology devel-
opment into practice. The field needs to develop or adapt explanatory models through
research and theory building.
VHRD is gaining traction as a new area of inquiry. It draws attention to the impor-
tance of informal learning that occurs in the everyday, and how it is important for
developing the person, the organization, and the technology. This issue of Advances is
significant because it adds to the literature-base of VHRD beyond prior exploratory
and tentative discussions. Specifically, it conceptualizes HRD’s role with technology
development. The issue provides theoretical and practical implications for developing
new technologies, and it offers new perspectives through which we may understand
and practice VHRD.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship,
and/or publication of this article.

Funding
The author received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this
article.

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Author Biography
Elisabeth E. Bennett is a faculty member in organizational leadership studies at Northeastern
University. She has been studying organizational culture, technology, and knowledge manage-
ment since her graduate work at the University of Georgia. Dr. Bennett is a former board mem-
ber of the Academy of Human Resource Development, and she serves on the editorial boards
for Adult Education Quarterly and Human Resource Development Quarterly.

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