Power, politics & learning: a social enactment of the SME owner/manager

Abstract

Objectives: One of the key influencing elements in the SME on the learning process is that of the owner/manager as a principle employee, having both the power and legitimacy to influence firm practices. The paper's perspective is connected to the belief that learning stems from the participation of individuals in complex social activities, by recognising that power relations can directly mediate the interpretative ideologies within social interactions.Prior Work: Social interactions represent the manner owner/managers ability to influence and shape their experience of learning, but it is at this juncture that research is lacking, in that the issues of power and the relatedness issues of politics have rarely emerged as a focus for debate.Approach: The paper argues that both power and politically-based social tensions provide the mediating social artefacts which have the ability to shape and influence learning practices. The inclusion of power and politics can help to explain why some SME owner/mangers are more successful at learning.Practical Implications: The paper seeks to draw attention to the social conflicts which are experienced by owner/managers, in which they must overcome the inherent elements of situated learning, such as the localisation of practice, and how this mediates and shapes learning.Originality/Value: The paper aims to critically explore and contribute to the development of the organisational learning debate in the context of the SME by providing an analysis of the influential and meditational role played by power and politics in the firm's learning.

The antecedents of leadership development practices in SMEs: The influence of HRM strategy and practice

“…Such teams may, however, be unaware of these skill gaps due to the absence of performance management and needs identification processes. The identification of skill gaps in SMEs is highly political due to the influence of the owner-manager who may be slow to acknowledge their own skill gaps (Higgins et al, 2013) Thus, we predict the following hypothesis:…”

Human Resource Development in SMEs: A Systematic Review of the Literature

“…This pattern is not surprising given that the owner-manager is a primary focus of SME research. Research indicates that the design and implementation of training and development practices in SMEs is typically the domain of founders or owner-managers (Higgins et al, 2013;Walker et al, 2007). However, such overreliance on managerial perspectives has meant that the recipients of HRD are overlooked.…”

“…However, the evidence suggests a strong belief on the part of SME owner-managers and employees that informal, on-the-job, experiential workplace methods are the most critical to job competence development due to their context-specific nature (Jameson, 2000;Matlay, 2002;Paloniemi, 2006;Perry et al, 2010;Pratten and Curtis, 2003;Walker and Webster, 2006). The important role played by socialisation with colleagues in skill development is also highlighted (Higgins et al, 2013;Saru, 2007;Seymour and Sandiford, 2005). Conversely, lack of access to workplace HRD can have a negative impact on sustainable working amongst older employees (Zientara, 2009).…”

HRD in SMEs: A research agenda whose time has come

“…Another concern of ours is that the majority of the scant previous research into HRD in SMEs has been conducted from the perspective of owner-managers (Admiraal & Lockhorst, 2009;Higgins & Mirza, 2011;Higgins, Mirza, & Drozynska, 2013;Saunders et al, 2014;Susomrith & Coetzer, 2015;Thorpe, Holt, Pittaway, & Macpherson, 2005). Consequently, we would like to suggest that research that goes beyond their perspective is needed in order to give a more holistic, interpretive view of HRD in SMEs.…”