| Harbison and Myers (1964) | Increasing all people’s knowledge, skills and capacity in a society |
| Jones (1981) | An organized enhancement of individuals’ job-related skills to achieve organizational objectives and personal aspirations |
| Chalofsky and Lincoln (1983) | The examination of how individuals and groups within organizational settings evolve through learning |
| Swanson (1987) | Enhancing organizational performance through activities involving workforce capabilities, such as work design, skills, expertise and motivation |
| Smith (1988) | Programs and activities, whether direct or indirect, instructional or individual, contribute positively to individual development, organizational productivity and profitability |
| Smith (1990) | The systematic enhancement of an organization’s human resources by improving employee performance and productivity is achieved through training, education, development and leadership initiatives to fulfill organizational and personal objectives |
| Chalofsky (1992) | The study and practice of enhancing the learning capabilities of individuals, groups, collectives and organizations through creating and utilizing learning-focused interventions to optimize human and organizational growth and efficacy |
| Marsick and Watkins (1994) | A theoretical integration through a blend of training, career development and organizational development sets the stage for conceptualizing a learning organization contingent upon strategic deployment |
| McLean and McLean (2001) | Any process or activity, whether immediate or cumulative, aimed at enhancing adults’ work-related knowledge, skills, productivity and satisfaction, benefiting individuals, groups, organizations, communities, nations or humanity |
| Paprock (2006) | Synergistic, reinforcing and interdependent, contingent on the context and purpose for which HRD is studied and practiced |
| Li and Nimon (2008) | A process geared toward enhancing all individuals’ knowledge, skills and capacities within a society |
| Swanson and Holton (2009) | A process aimed at cultivating and maximizing expertise to enhance organizational systems, work processes, team dynamics and individual performance |
| Wang et al. (2017) | A means to support the objectives defined by the corresponding host system rather than being an end |
| Swanson (2022) | A process aimed at cultivating and harnessing expertise to enhance the performance of individuals, teams, work processes and organizational systems |