Strategic Staffing and Small-Firm Performance

ORGANISING FOR INNOVATION IN PROFESSIONAL SERVICES FIRMS: ECONOMETRIC EVIDENCE FROM THE UK

Undertaking innovation involves a range of different activities from ideation to the commercialisation of innovations. Each activity may have very different resources and organisational requirements, however, most prior studies treat innovation as a single un-differentiated activity. Here, using new survey data for professional service firms (PSFs) in the UK, we are able to examine separately how a range of organisational work practices influence success in ideation and commercialisation. In particular, we use principal component analysis (PCA) to identify and compare the benefits of four groups of organisational work practices relating to strategy & information sharing, recruitment & training, work flexibility & discretion and culture & leadership. Strong contrasts emerge between those work practices that are important for success in ideation and commercialisation. Work practices linked to culture & leadership are important for ideation activities, while strategy &information sharing practices are more strongly associated with commercialisation success. The results suggest clear managerial implications depending on the priority

Role of employee relations and HRM in driving commitment to sustainability in MSME firms

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to explore the role of employee relations and human resource management (HRM) practices on firms' commitment to sustainability in the context of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) in India. This paper proposes a theoretical framework, namely “awareness, action, comprehensiveness, and excellence (AACE),” to present the solutions and practices as adopted by MSME firms in meeting their sustainability objectives alongside pluralistic constraints related to human resource, capital and legitimacy risk.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper employs a cross-case methodology to investigate five food processing MSME firms to understand and delineate the role of employee relations and HRM practices in driving their commitment to sustainability.

Findings

The paper discusses the status of employee relations and HRM practices as practiced by MSME firms, specifically designed to meet their agenda to strengthen their commitment to sustainability. The study proposes a framework constituting four levels, namely “awareness, action, comprehensiveness, and excellence (AACE),” that reflects HRM practices as adopted by MSME firms to develop their commitment to sustainability.

Social implications

MSMEs and food processing industries are critical to the growth of Indian economy and likewise for other emerging and developing economies. They are especially critical for their contribution to overall employment and sustainability comprising the second, third and fourth supplier links in supply chains. They have a major impact on sustainability outcomes and the life quality of employees. This paper makes a contribution in this direction.

Originality/value

The study fulfills the need to explore the role of employee relations and HRM practices to develop “commitment to sustainability” in the context of food processing MSME firms in an emerging economy of India. This paper adds an understanding of people management practices and sustainability in small firms (MSMEs), adding to the existing literature on the domain, which is mostly skewed toward large firms.

Recruitment practices under scrutiny: A latent-profile analysis of family firms’ approaches to recruit non-family employees

Recruitment of qualified non-family employees is a challenge for many family firms. Job seekers from outside may be wary of the family firm employment practice and the family themselves may have an informal approach to finding employees which often relies on word of mouth and produces a limited pool of talent. In this study we investigate adopted recruitment practices and the factors behind recruiting non-family workforce as we seek common elements, explanations and outcomes. Applying latent-profile analysis to the recruiting practices of 259 family firms we explore sets of adopted recruitment practices, their respective predictors, including socioemotional wealth, and potential outcomes. These analyses reveal five latent classes: (1) reduced recruitment; (2) online high cost recruitment; (3) full scope recruitment; (4) offline informal recruitment; and (5) formal high cost recruitment. In sum, our findings suggest that substantial differences in family firms’ approaches to recruitment exist, providing further evidence for the heterogeneity of family firms. Finally, findings are discussed with regard to limitations and implications for future research.