Recruitment process outsourcing: a literature review

Abstract

Purpose – This paper aims to review research on recruitment process outsourcing to establish the current body of knowledge and, on this basis, to identify gaps in our understanding. This action will rationalize future research activities.

Design/methodology/approach – The study consists of a systematic review of 36 articles includes 21 refereed empirical papers, 3 review papers, 7 conceptual papers, 3 reports and 2 thesis on recruitment process outsourcing.

Findings – Five themes were identified: Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO), key motivators of recruitment process outsourcing, benefits and risks of RPO, effects of RPO on different stakeholders and RPO in India. It seems that there is lack of understanding concerning the concept of recruitment process outsourcing.

Research limitations/implications – This study may not have enabled a complete coverage of all

empirical articles in the field of Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO). Yet, it seems that the review process covered a large number of studies available.

Originality/value – To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no systematic literature review on this topic has previously been published in academic journals.

Keywords - Outsourcing, Literature review, Recruitment process, Key motivators, India, Stakeholders

Paper type - Literature review