HRM in the SME sector: valuable employees and coercive networks

Bacon, Nicolas; Hoque, Kim

doi:10.1080/09585190500314706

Cited by 198 publications

(190 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…Additionally, unions might play an 'internal consultant' advisory role (Guest 1995), seeking to improve the terms and conditions of their members by increasing managers' awareness of HPWPs and encouraging their adoption. Supporting this argument, union recognition in small businesses has been found to be associated with higher training levels (Frazis, Herz and Horrigan 1995;Green 1993), and (within SMEs more broadly) with the more widespread adoption of formal induction, discipline and grievance procedures (Bacon and Hoque 2005). Hence, in the few instances where they are present, unions may be positively associated with the extent of adoption of HPWPs within small businesses.…”

Section: Access To Expertisementioning

confidence: 62%

“…In owner-managed family businesses, lower agency costs may encourage reliance on informal direct management and personal networks based on a sense of mutual obligation (Ram and Edwards 2003) that render HPWPs obsolete. By contrast, non-family owned businesses (and also owner-governed family businesses in which family members are not involved in day-to-day management) need to employ managers from outside the family, and these managers may import into the business the knowledge, skills and experience necessary to introduce HPWPs (Bacon and Hoque 2005). Hence, one might anticipate the uptake of HPWPs to be lower in ownermanaged family businesses than in other small businesses.…”

Section: Suggest Thatmentioning

confidence: 92%

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The adoption of high performance work practices in small businesses: the influence of markets, business characteristics and HR expertise

Ning

Bacon

Hoque

2013

The International Journal of Human Resource Management

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This paper explores the extent to which the adoption of High Performance Work Practices (HPWPs) in UK small businesses with fewer than 50 employees is associated with the nature of the market in which the business operates, its business characteristics and its access to HR expertise. Drawing on data from the 2004 Workplace Employment Relations Survey, the analysis suggests that, where market-related factors are concerned, the uptake of HPWPs is higher in small businesses that require a highly-skilled workforce but is unrelated to either the degree of market competition or the presence of large dominant customers. In terms of access to HR expertise, the analysis finds greater use of HPWPs in small businesses that have contact with external sources of HR advice via membership of business advisory networks or Investors in People (IiP) recognition. However, uptake is unrelated to the presence of personnel/HR specialists. Overall, the findings suggest that rather than depicting employment practices in small businesses as the inevitable consequence of market circumstances, encouraging greater small business involvement with business advisory networks and IiP may have the potential to increase the adoption of HPWPs in the sector.

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Section: Access To Expertisementioning

confidence: 62%

Section: Suggest Thatmentioning

confidence: 92%

The adoption of high performance work practices in small businesses: the influence of markets, business characteristics and HR expertise

Ning

Bacon

Hoque

2013

The International Journal of Human Resource Management

Self Cite

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“…Behavioral SME spatial-attitudinal predispositions (associated with mindsets and belief systems) point at a propensity towards informality in HR practices in SMEs (including talent management) rather than adherence to the more formal processes in larger organizations (Bacon and Hoque, 2005). That is to say, HR practices in SMEs are often emergent underlining the complexity and heterogeneity of HR in SME settings (Harney and Dundon, 2006).…”

Section: Hr Practices In Talent Management: the Case Of Smes In Relatmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Alternatively, behavioral SME temporal-attitudinal predispositions point at particular action-orientations occurring over given periods of time in SME contexts (for example, flexibility, ad hoc decision making, short-termism). Alternatively expressed, spatial-attitudinal predispositions tend to exhibit more 'fixed' and established traits and be involved with sense-making (Weick, 1995) around 'place' while temporal-attitudinal pre-dispositions are characterised by rapid change and dynamic environments.Behavioral SME spatial-attitudinal predispositions (associated with mindsets and belief systems) point at a propensity towards informality in HR practices in SMEs (including talent management) rather than adherence to the more formal processes in larger organizations (Bacon and Hoque, 2005). That is to say, HR practices in SMEs are often emergent underlining the complexity and heterogeneity of HR in SME settings (Harney and Dundon, 2006).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Managing talent across advanced and emerging economies: HR issues and challenges in a Sino-German strategic collaboration

Stokes

Liu

Smith

et al. 2015

The International Journal of Human Resource Management

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The HR practices involved in global talent management continue to advance and evolve. A majority of talent management commentary is from multinational corporation (MNC) perspectives. However, the less commented small-to-medium sized enterprise (SME) also confronts challenges grounded in economic (i.e. resources, finance), organisational (i.e. size, scope and structure) and consequent behavioral rationales (i.e. mindsets and stances). This paper establishes and examines a number of propositions which consider how these factors impact on an advanced economy SME's talent management in emerging economy collaborations.An interpretive qualitative methodology is employed using interviews conducted within two cases -SME and an MNC comparator case. The SME case is used as the driving force of the paper and its theoretical focus and findings. The MNC is used to develop issues as a comparator case. The findings show SME economic and organisational drivers producing behavioral dynamics in relation to mimesis of planned actions yet informal serendipitous responses in reality; a predilection for the proximate and familiar; design configurations of short-term expatriate visits and inpatriates; cumulating in on-going inpatriate acculturisation and re-acculturation oscillation. Consequently, the implication is that the SME needs a HR practices encompassing resignation to the situation, flexibility and resilience in order to survive and progress.Keywords: HR practices, talent management, SME, inpatriates, acculturisation. 1 IntroductionHuman Resource (HR) practices around talent management -the recruitment, selection and retention of national and international talent by organizations -has attracted considerable scholarly attention (Collings, Scullion and Morley, 2007;Farndale, Scullion and Sparrow, 2010;Minbaeva and Collings, 2013). This work has focused primarily on HR practices in multinational corporation (MNC) contexts. This propensity is perhaps to be anticipated since MNCs possess complex multi-faceted infrastructures, expansive international operations, and, large marketing budgets which require (and can afford) the development of planned talent management systems.In contrast, by definition, small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), frequently lack the scale, scope, resources and international experience of MNCs. In essence, while SMEs may compete in segments of MNC markets, the 'world' of SMEs in terms of inter alia: decisionmaking, investment choices, culture and daily running of the firm -often led by family owner-directors and linked with a community rooted to a specific geographical locality -are all substantively different to MNCs. In response to SME proclivities, a substantive body of writing has been generated (Voordeckers, Van Gils and Van de Heuvel, 2007;Nieto, Santamaria, Fernandez, 2013;Lewis, 2015;Wang and Liu, 2015).Nevertheless, HR practices for talent recruitment and management in SMEs, and in particular as SMEs expand into international strategic partnerships, have been considerably less researched.Given t...

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“…Furthermore, the findings are unusual in that one might have expected employers, from a sample of predominately SMEs, to have opted for a paternalist posture. It is commonly asserted that a paternalism of sorts, with its familial type emphasis, is the mainstay of employment relations in SME firms (Dundon et al 1999;Grugulis et al 2000;Bacon and Hoque, 2005). Paternalism might have been a more 'socially acceptable' employer ideology, given its benign resonances in contrast to the tough market determinism of the Traditional variant.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%