A quarter‐century review of HRM in small and medium‐sized enterprises: Capturing what we know, exploring where we need to go
Harney, BrianORCID: 0000-0003-3252-563X and Alkhalaf, Hadeel
(2020)
A quarter‐century review of HRM in small and medium‐sized enterprises: Capturing what we know, exploring where we need to go.
Human Resource Management, 60
(1).
pp. 5-29.
ISSN 0090-4848
Despite the proliferation of HRM research, only a small fraction explores the context of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Where HRM in SMEs has received attention the literature base remains fragmented and variable, comprising a plurality of definitions, explanations and methods. To advance understanding, this paper uses a quarter-century systematic review drawing on an evidence base of 137 peer-reviewed articles. A cumulative framework is presented capturing key developments and synthesizing existing areas of research focus. Analysis of limitations and knowledge-gaps finds a failure to differentiate across various types of SMEs, limited appreciation of SME characteristics and contextual conditions, and a dominance of managerial perspectives. An agenda for future research on HRM in SMEs is outlined with respect to definitional parameters, HR practices, HRM-Performance, key determinants and presenting issues. The paper concludes that SMEs offer a unique, fruitful and timely context for investigations of HRM.
Metadata
Item Type:
Article (Published)
Refereed:
Yes
Uncontrolled Keywords:
small firms; small and medium-sized enterprises; HRM in context; systematic literature review; entrepreneurship