Well-managed employment relationships can be a secret to business success, yet this factor is relatively poorly understood when it comes to small and medium-sized enterprises (SME’s). Written by active researchers with teaching experience, this book brings together the fields of entrepreneurship and human resource management for the first time, providing entrepreneurship students with a solid grounding in HRM as well as a platform for further critical engagement with the research. The concise and authoritative style also enables the book to be used as a primer for researchers exploring this under-developed terrain. As the only student-focused specialist book on human resource management in entrepreneurial firms, this is vital reading for students and researchers in this area, as well as those interested in small business and management more generally.

"This book addresses the issues of HRM in SMEs by providing a channel of communication to disseminate knowledge; including management philosophies, culture, and management practices"--Provided by publisher.

Human Resource Management in Small Business fills a gap in our understanding of economic performance. Small businesses are more numerous, have more employees, and contribute more to the economies of nations throughout the world than do large organizations. This book examines a range of issues, including the significance of human resource management (HRM) practices to small business success, the management of work hours and work stressors, work and family issues, succession planning, employee recruitment and selection, and managing staff. It also explores how individuals develop HRM skills, and learn from their own and others? experiences. The role of HRM practices in successful small businesses is illustrated through a range of case studies. Including contributors who are internationally recognized academics from a range of countries; this book will prove to be an essential resource for postgraduate students and academics in management. Professional managers and owners in SMEs will also discover great insights from this admirable book.

Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are increasingly viewed as valuable contributors to the global economy, which translates into their importance in business literature and academic research. Recent studies suggest that there exists a substantial variety of international activities pursued by SMEs expanding abroad, with a prominent presence of early internationalised enterprises, including born global. Despite the acknowledgement of the importance of human capital for SME internationalisation, there is a persistent knowledge gap concerning HR practices in this context. Until now, researchers investigating the accelerated internationalisation of SMEs have focused either on the human capital of decision-makers or selected attributes of employees, although these have only been at the pre-entry or entry stages. Thus, activities performed after entering foreign markets remain. This book attempts to reduce this gap and contribute to the body of knowledge concerning HR practices in early internationalised SMEs with an emphasis on the post-entry phase. By taking such an approach, this volume integrates two streams of research: HRM in the SMEs and international business. It provides managers of SMEs with useful information on dealing with internationalisation-related challenges by means of various practices including work structuring, recruitment and selection, training and development, employee appraisal and remuneration, and performance management. The discussion of these issues is based upon data from a survey conducted in 200 SMEs and case studies exemplifying HR practices in early internationalised small and medium enterprises. It offers academic researchers, postgraduate students, and reflective practitioners a state-of-the-art overview of managing human resources in small and medium enterprises expanding internationally, including both accelerated and incremental paths.

Managing People in Small and Medium Enterprises in Turbulent Contexts explores a range of human resource management (HRM) issues specific to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Based on a series of research studies and secondary sources of data, the book’s primary aim is to contextualise HRM issues in SMEs operating in a variety of national economic contexts that are (or have recently experienced) a turbulent situation. SMEs are the backbone of these economies. It is therefore critical that we study HR practices and concepts within such enterprises. The book covers HR practices in SMEs, such as recruitment and selection, training and development, performance evaluation and employee relations, by focusing on three types of turbulent economies: emerging market economies in Asia, the Pacific, Africa and Latin America; transition economies of Central and Eastern Europe; and crisis contexts in Southern Europe. Managing People in Small and Medium Enterprises in Turbulent Contexts is a useful resource for organisations, practitioners, academics and scholars in the fields of HRM, employee engagement, small and medium business management and other related disciplines.

Due to the vital importance of SMEs in developed economies worldwide, this book aims to provide a unique and much-needed investigation into the underlying mechanisms and practices of management within these companies by collecting a wide range of original conceptual and empirical research in the topical area of management in SMEs and new ventures. Collecting work from dozens of leading scholars in fields ranging from management and entrepeneurship to human resource management and strategy, this book aims to supply readers with an overview of the field of research in management of SMEs and new ventures as well as in depth knowledge on a variety of related topics. The essays collected here are focused and practical, offering a variety of explicit and pragmatic recommendations for action and developing new tools and strategies useful to scholars and students as well as practitioners working in the field of SME and new venture management and consulting.