Spiritual intelligence research within human resource development: a thematic review

Purpose This study aims to synthesize the rich knowledge on spiritual intelligence (SI) research within the framework of human resource development (HRD) research. Design/methodology/approach Based on the search of multiple electronic databases authors conducted thematic review of the literature on SI and HRD. Themes associated with SI and HRD are extracted while employing the content analysis technique. Findings Five major themes emerged through the process of content analysis on the body of the reviewed literature. The themes which described the presence of SI-related research within the field of HRD, included: Conceptual connections between SI and HRD; SI Holistic Mechanism; SI and Leadership development, SI measurement tools and, finally, the impact of SI on sustainability. Research limitations/implications The inclusion and exclusion criteria are that the search for this review has been limited to peer-reviewed journals that are published SI-related articles. This paper excluded all articles on SI that `do not explicitly discuss the valuable role of human resources. The key words used are spiritual intelligence (SI) and HRD. Originality/value This paper offered new-fangled value and insightful understanding on SI and its implications for other areas, more specifically HRD. It suggests that SI is an important component for organizational development. Such interventions nurture the human resources that can lead to better performance as a whole.