Klaudia Szőts-Kováts, an assistant professor at Corvinus, and Professor Henriett Primecz have been awarded a prestigious international honor after the Academy of Human Resource Development recognized their joint paper as joint first runner-up in the Monica M. Lee Research Excellence Award category.
This is granted to outstanding articles published in Human Resource Development International, a journal published by Taylor & Francis, and one of the leading international forums in the field.
The award jury ranked the Corvinus researchers’ article among the top three papers of last year. The citation highlighted how the publication revealed new theoretical and practical insights in HR development.
The reviewers unanimously praised the high quality and international impact of the Corvinus study. The publication, titled “How do Human Resource Managers Make Sense of Their Work? A Study of Changing Work Meaningfulness Using the Critical Incident Technique,” examines how HR managers interpret their work and how this evolves.
One of the key findings of the research is that the meaningfulness of work is not constant; it is primarily shaped by critical workplace situations. These can easily shift HR professionals’ experiences from positive to negative, especially when they face contradictions within their roles. If they have no opportunity to adjust the boundaries of their job, professionals may even choose to change jobs or careers, leading to the loss of valuable talent from the organization.
“Our research carries a clear practical message: organizations, particularly in times of crisis, need to pay close attention to how meaningful their employees perceive their work to be, and should provide support where necessary in managing critical situations,” said Klaudia Szőts-Kováts.
The recognition also highlights the decades-long professional work of the Institute of Management and the Department of Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Development at Corvinus and reinforces the university’s position at the forefront of international human resource development research.
Corvinus University of Budapest describes itself as Hungary’s leading university in business, economics, and social sciences. Maintained by the Maecenas Universitatis Corvini Foundation, Corvinus’ medium-term»objective is to become the best higher education institution in these fields in Central Europe. Corvinus University currently has more than 8,000 students, including 2,000 international students, and has close links with 170 partner universities worldwide.
This article was first published in the Budapest Business Journal print issue of April 24, 2026.
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