IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/tin/wpaper/20010038.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Organization Context and Human Resource Management in the Small Firm

Author

Listed:
  • Jan de Kok

    (Erasmus University Rotterdam)

  • Lorraine M. Uhlaner

    (Erasmus University Rotterdam, and Eastern Michigan University)

Abstract

This paper examines the relationship between organization contextual variables and humanresource management (HRM) practices in small firms. The proposed model is based on anintegration of theoretical perspectives, including the resource-based approach, institutionaltheory, transaction cost economics (TCE), and concepts from strategic management. The model isexplored empirically, with qualitative and quantitative analyses of data collected from a sample ofsixteen small Dutch firms. Specific contextual variables examined include company size, thepresence of a collective labor agreement, having a large firm associate, either as supplier,purchasing group or franchiser, and the company's strategic orientation toward growth (growthstrategy). An important finding is the significance of having a large firm associate. Companies witha large firm associate are more likely to report having employer-based training programs. Aspredicted, company size is associated with more formal HRM practices, including greater regularityof performance appraisal and greater likelihood of employer-based training. A weak relationship isfound between a more growth-oriented strategy and greater formality of these two HRM practices.Predictions based on collective labor agreements are not supported. The paper concludes that thefindings warrant further research on the relationship between organization contextual variablesand the formalization of HRM practices, although a clearer definition of the latter variable isneeded in future research.

Suggested Citation

  • Jan de Kok & Lorraine M. Uhlaner, 2001. "Organization Context and Human Resource Management in the Small Firm," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 01-038/3, Tinbergen Institute.
    • Handle: RePEc:tin:wpaper:20010038
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://papers.tinbergen.nl/01038.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. David B. Audretsch & A. Roy Thurik, 2000. "Capitalism and democracy in the 21st Century: from the managed to the entrepreneurial economy," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 10(1), pages 17-34.
    2. John Paul Macduffie, 1995. "Human Resource Bundles and Manufacturing Performance: Organizational Logic and Flexible Production Systems in the World Auto Industry," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 48(2), pages 197-221, January.
    3. Charlotte Koch & Jan de Kok, 1999. "Human-resource-based theory of the small firm, A," Scales Research Reports H199906, EIM Business and Policy Research.
    4. Ferligoj, Anuska & Prasnikar, Janez & Jordan, Vesna, 1997. "Competitive Advantage and Human Resource Management in SMEs in a Transitional Economy," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 9(6), pages 503-514, December.
    5. Ichniowski, Casey & Shaw, Kathryn & Prennushi, Giovanna, 1997. "The Effects of Human Resource Management Practices on Productivity: A Study of Steel Finishing Lines," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 87(3), pages 291-313, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sharon Novak & Scott Stern, 2009. "Complementarity Among Vertical Integration Decisions: Evidence from Automobile Product Development," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 55(2), pages 311-332, February.
    2. Abdul Raziq, Retha Wiesner, 2016. "High Performance Management Practices and Sustainability of SMEs. Evidence from Manufacturing and Services-based Industries in Pakistan," Journal of Management Sciences, Geist Science, Iqra University, Faculty of Business Administration, vol. 3(2), pages 83-107, October.
    3. Fibla Gasparín, Ma. Teresa, 2010. "Productivity in southern European small firms: When and how work organization complements process innovation," Working Papers 2072/179600, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Department of Economics.
    4. Derek C. Jones & Takao Kato, 2011. "The Impact of Teams on Output, Quality, and Downtime: An Empirical Analysis Using Individual Panel Data," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 64(2), pages 215-240, January.
    5. Erik Brynjolfsson & Kristina McElheran, 2016. "Data in Action: Data-Driven Decision Making in U.S. Manufacturing," Working Papers 16-06, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    6. Michael J. Handel & Maury Gittleman, 1999. "Is There a Wage Payoff to Innovative Work Practices?," Economics Working Paper Archive wp_288, Levy Economics Institute.
    7. Pouliakas, Konstantinos & Russo, Giovanni, 2015. "Heterogeneity of Skill Needs and Job Complexity: Evidence from the OECD PIAAC Survey," IZA Discussion Papers 9392, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. John Forth & Alex Bryson, 2019. "Management practices and SME performance," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 66(4), pages 527-558, September.
    9. Chris Brewster & Paul N Gooderham & Torben Schubert, 2016. "Human Resource Management: The Promise, the Performance, the Consequences," John H Dunning Centre for International Business Discussion Papers jhd-dp2016-07, Henley Business School, University of Reading.
    10. Storey, D. J., 2002. "Education, training and development policies and practices in medium-sized companies in the UK: do they really influence firm performance?," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 30(4), pages 249-264, August.
    11. Bloom, Nicholas & Van Reenen, John, 2011. "Human Resource Management and Productivity," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 19, pages 1697-1767, Elsevier.
    12. Haim Mendelson, 2000. "Organizational Architecture and Success in the Information Technology Industry," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 46(4), pages 513-529, April.
    13. Michael Gibbs & Alec Levenson & Cindy Zoghi, 2010. "Why are jobs designed the way they are?," Research in Labor Economics, in: Jobs, Training, and Worker Well-being, pages 107-154, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    14. Silvia Sacchetti & Ermanno C. Tortia, 2014. "A human growth perspective on organizational resources, worker satisfaction and firm performance," Euricse Working Papers 1466, Euricse (European Research Institute on Cooperative and Social Enterprises).
    15. Casey Ichniowski & Kathryn Shaw, 1999. "The Effects of Human Resource Management Systems on Economic Performance: An International Comparison of U.S. and Japanese Plants," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 45(5), pages 704-721, May.
    16. Rakas, Marija & Hain, Daniel S., 2019. "The state of innovation system research: What happens beneath the surface?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(9), pages 1-1.
    17. Baik, Bok & Evans, John H. & Kim, Kyonghee & Yanadori, Yoshio, 2016. "White collar incentives," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 34-49.
    18. Paul Osterman & Andrew Weaver, 2016. "Community Colleges and Employers: How Can We Understand their Connection?," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(4), pages 523-545, October.
    19. Rajiv D. Banker & Joy M. Field & Kingshuk K. Sinha, 2001. "Work-Team Implementation and Trajectories of Manufacturing Quality: A Longitudinal Field Study," Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, INFORMS, vol. 3(1), pages 25-42, November.
    20. Joseph Lanfranchi & John Treble, 2010. "Just‐In‐Time Production, Work Organization And Absence Control," Manchester School, University of Manchester, vol. 78(5), pages 460-483, September.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    firm behavior; labor relations; personnel management; small and medium-sized enterprises;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D21 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Theory
    • D23 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Organizational Behavior; Transaction Costs; Property Rights
    • J50 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - General
    • L20 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - General
    • M12 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Personnel Management; Executives; Executive Compensation

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:tin:wpaper:20010038. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Tinbergen Office +31 (0)10-4088900 (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/tinbenl.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.