Reimagining Islamic Human Resource Management: Integrating Islamic Work Ethics, Human Capital Development, and Organizational Sustainability
Abstract
Islamic Human Resource Management (IHRM) has increasingly attracted scholarly attention as organizations seek practices that integrate ethical values, employee development, organizational capability, and long-term sustainability. However, existing research remains fragmented, with Islamic Work Ethics (IWE), human capital development, organizational capability, and organizational sustainability generally examined as separate streams rather than interconnected components of an integrated IHRM architecture. This study systematically synthesizes literature on IHRM and IWE to identify mechanisms through which Islamic ethical orientation contributes to human capital, capability, and sustainability. Following the PRISMA 2020 reporting framework, a systematic literature review with an integrative qualitative synthesis was conducted across Scopus, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, Emerald, SpringerLink, and Google Scholar. The review documented 360 identified records, from which 25 core peer-reviewed articles published between 2020 and 2026 were selected and thematically analyzed. Findings indicate that IWE functions not merely as a normative principle but as an ethical-behavioral mechanism associated with motivation, commitment, psychological resources, moral identity, organizational identification, knowledge sharing, and ethical behavior. The synthesis identifies a multistage relationship where IHRM provides the context, IWE shapes psychological and behavioral resources, and knowledge-sharing processes facilitate human capital mobilization. Organizational capability converts these resources into collective organizational value, while organizational sustainability constitutes the long-term outcome. Consequently, the study develops an integrative theoretical framework connecting previously fragmented ethical, human capital, capability, and sustainability perspectives. While serving as a theoretical architecture rather than an empirically validated causal model, it provides a foundation for future longitudinal, multilevel, comparative, and mixed-method research.
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