This is the first issue of Human Resource Development Review (HRDR) that I have prepared in my role as Editor-in-Chief. This means that my three-year term as an Associate Editor has come to an end. As I reflect on how I reached where I am today, I know that I have a village of people to recognize: my mentors, the previous editors of the journal, the HRDR editorial board, reviewers, authors, and the HRD community who have supported the journal over the years. Among them, I have learned most from my former Editor—Julia Storberg-Walker, my two co-Associate Editors (with whom I worked at different times), Julie Gedro, and later Toby Egan. Last, and not the least, I am grateful for the former Managing Editor, Mariela Campuzano, a brilliant doctoral student at George Washington University, who has created a social media movement, which has become the model for our sister journals in HRD. Working with this team of very talented colleagues, I have learned what it means to commit to a vision you believe in strongly, to be strategic with tasks that may be beyond my control, and to nurture and develop authors by providing them with thoughtful review/editorial feedback, And, I am learning to have the courage to make difficult decisions; and to not be afraid to reach out for advice when I’m struggling.

I have grown more to understand self-sacrifice so that I could carve out time from my already packed days to complete journal related work in a timely fashion. I have to admit that it has not always been easy to stay on top of the game, because there are times when my attention and energy are pulled in many directions. After all, this is volunteer work to which I have committed because of my deep care and passion for the HRD profession. However, it is also this very love for HRD that has motivated me to keep going and to take on more challenges in this new capacity of this important journal in our field. I thank the AHRD Board and the HRDR Editorial Board for your trust and confidence in me. For that, I will not take my role lightly.

Perhaps now is a good time to introduce my new editorial team. I am very fortunate to have two extremely talented and dedicated colleagues/friends as my Associate Editors: Yonjoo Cho of Indiana University in the USA and Mina Beigi, University of Southampton in the UK. Together, they bring years of experiences as editorial members of multiple international journals; and as authors, reviewers and leaders in the Academy of HRD. I am also extremely fortunate to have an outstanding Managing Editor, Yasmeen Makarem, a Ph.D. student in the HRD program at Texas A&M University, who reminds me daily of tasks I need to complete as the journal editor.

Beginning August 1st, 2017, the new editorial team enthusiastically assumed our roles. Collectively, we have developed the following vision with the hope to extend the journal’s global reach and publish more high quality research from authors around the world. With an editorial team of four members coming from four ethnic backgrounds, and our devotion to enhance the journal’s international reputation, we have confidence that our vision will not remain a wishful thinking.

Human Resource Development Review (HRDR) is an international journal focusing on theory development for scholars and practitioners in human resource development and related disciplines. HRDR publishes high-quality conceptual work using non-empirical research methods. The journal is committed to advancing HRD by providing fresh theoretical insights, new conceptual models, critical examination of literature, and multi-paradigm approaches to theory building.

As I conclude, let me briefly introduce the four articles in this issue. As you will see, engagement continues to attract research attention and this issue features two articles on the two sides of the coin—engagement (Kim, Park, Park, & Lim, 2018) and disengagement (Rastogi, Pati, & Krishnan). Kim et al. (Article 1) examined antecedents and outcomes of work engagement in the non-profit organizational context by using the job demands-resources model as the theoretical framework. On the other hand, Rastogi et al. (Article 3) investigated causes, contingencies and consequences of disengagement guided by the Conservation of Resources Theory. By looking at both sides of the issue through different theoretical lenses, these two articles provide us with a fuller understanding and multi-dimensional interpretation of the engagement phenomenon. Article 2 by Turner, Baker, and Kellner, proposed an approach to conducting theoretical literature reviews, which has not been widely practiced by HRD scholars or published in HRD journals. For a field where sound theories and theory-building are in a critical need, publications of this nature will be invaluable. As HRDR continues to seek diversity of manuscripts, we welcome research adopting this new methodology. Finally, in Article 4, Park, Jeong, Jang, Yoon, and Lim critically examined competencies for global leadership, another timely and important topic that has captured consistent attention from both scholars and practitioners in recent years. The newly proposed integrative global leadership framework can be a very helpful reference tool to guide organizations and HRD practitioner’s efforts in developing their leaders for the competencies essential to succeed in the globalized world.

Therefore, it is my hope that the provocative thoughts and innovative approaches shared by the authors in this issue will stimulate active dialogues and healthy debate in our HRD community. I invite you to open your mind, set aside some time, and read on!