Overview
CRANET (The Cranfield Network on International Human Resource Management) is the world’s largest HRM research network and the only one that has been collecting comparative data on HRM in different countries for more than three decades. Launched in 1989, CRANET was established to meet the need for ready access to information on best practice and comparative performance within Europe, and now globally. The research network today is a collaboration between over 40 Universities and business schools in Europe, North America, Africa, Asia, and Australia.
CRANET analyzes fundamental issues and trends in the structure and policy of HR Management, recruitment, staff development, compensation, and employee relations. It also considers company-specific, sectorial and country-specific differences in detail.
As a dataset, CRANET is unique in two ways:
- It allows for the comparison of HRM policies and practices in a large number of countries across the globe.
- It allows the examination of trends and changes in HRM over a 30-year period.
Since 1 January 2026, CRANET in Switzerland has been jointly led by Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts (Prof. Dr. Anna Sender) and the University of Fribourg (Prof. Dr. Eric Davoine), and implemented in collaboration with Dr. Marina Pletscher (University of Lucerne).
Prior to this, the CRANET project was conducted by the University of St. Gallen (Prof. Dr. Martin Hilb), the University of Zurich (Prof. Dr. Bruno Staffelbach, Prof. Dr. Anna Sender and Dr. Andreas Schmid), and the University of Lucerne (Prof. Dr. Bruno Staffelbach, Prof. Dr. Anna Sender, Dr. Sandra Furrer and Dr. Marina Pletscher).
The results of the study provide a valuable basis upon which to benchmark the activities of different organizations with Swiss trends and competitors.
CRANET collects data in a four-year cycle, with the next survey taking place in 2026.
