| Samenvatting |
Human resource management (HRM) has been defined as the “process of attracting, developing and
maintaining a talented and energetic workforce to support organizational mission, objectives, and
strategies” (Schermerhorn, 2001, p. 2400). Audretsch and Thurik (2000, 2001) argue that effective
HRM practices are becoming increasingly important in the modern “knowledge-based” economy, as
companies face the double challenge of the need for more highly trained employees coupled with the
shortage of qualified labour. These challenges, coupled with the third trend toward smaller firms in general,
reinforce the need for effective HRM practices in the small firm (Audretsch and Thurik, 2000,
2001).
Empirical research confirms that in general, smaller firms make less use of professional HRM practices
than larger firms (Barron et al., 1987; Hornsby and Kuratko, 1990). For example, smaller firms make less
use of formalized recruitment practices (Aldrich and Langton, 1997), provide less training to their employees
(Koch and McGrath, 1996; Westhead and Storey, 1997, 1999) and are less likely to use formalized
performance appraisals (Jackson et al., 1989). In spite of the size effect, a growing base of research
evidence suggests that far from being homogeneous, small firms nevertheless vary widely in the professional
HRM practices in use (De Kok and Uhlaner, 2001). For example, Deshpande and Golhar (1994)
find HRM practices within many small manufacturing firms to be as sophisticated as those in larger
companies. Similarly, Hornsby and Kuratko (1990) find that while firms of all sizes use primarily informal
recruitment and selection techniques (mainly employee referrals and the interview), even among small
firms, HRM practices are often more sophisticated than they had expected. Using a small set of cases,
Hill and Stewart (1999) also demonstrate variation in level of sophistication of HRM practices among
smaller organizations. |