Abstract
Human resource analytics (HRA) has received extensive attention in research and practice for its strategic value for human resource management (HRM) and capabilities in enhancing organizational efficiency. However, its potential negative impact on employees and sustainable HRM practices cannot be overlooked. Despite the growing research interest in the broader ethical and social implications on HRA, there is still a lack of comprehensive understanding of HRA’s impact on holistic sustainability. Placing justice at the center, this paper proposes a novel sustainable HRA framework. Drawing on insights from sustainable HRM, socio-ecological systems perspective, and organizational justice theories, we systematically examine HRA’s dual impacts on the four dimensions of justice—distributive, procedural, interpersonal, and informational justice. Our analysis reveals that different HRA pathways and components can both promote and undermine justice, with far-reaching implications for sustainable HRM within and beyond organizational boundaries. We argue sustainable HRA need to actively leverage analytics capabilities while closely managing risks and unintended consequences in the implementation. To enact sustainable HRA, we highlight the importance of three guardrails: analytics literacy, governance, and regulation of HRA. A research agenda is proposed for developing these guardrails to ensure sustainable outcomes of HRA. This paper makes important contributions to the literature on HRA, sustainable HRM, and organizational justice, offering valuable insights for future inquiry.