Human Resources Management in the Digital Economy of Central European Countries

The digital economy development leads to a change in the institutional conditions of human resources management and an aggravation of the contradictions between technological capabilities and managerial responsibility. The purpose of the research is to identify and analytically comprehend the key contradictions (paradoxes) in the human resources management processes in companies in Central European countries caused by the dynamism of digital transformations. The methodological basis of the research is an institutional, critical and comparative analysis based on the synthesis and interpretation of statistical data, industry analytical reports and practices in HR outsourcing. The empirical basis of the study is the Visegrad Group countries (Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Hungary), characterised by a similar trajectory of post-socialist transformation and comparable labor market models within the framework of the pan-European regulatory environment. The results of the study conceptually substantiate and empirically confirm the existence of structural paradoxes of human resources management, including contradictions between automation and the growth of managerial responsibility, algorithmization of decisions and lack of trust, standardization of processes and the need to take into account the local institutional context. It is proved that these contradictions are institutional in nature, cannot be eliminated solely through technological or process tools, and require institutional and analytical thinking, including strengthening the role of human-centered management.