Employment relations in SMEs

Abstract

If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation.Abstract Most of the HRM literature is based on large firms despite the growing significance now accorded to smaller firms. In this paper, we explore employment relations in SMEs and argue that the existing literature tends to polarise into a``small is beautiful'' or``bleak house'' perspective. The paper examines some of the key issues in relation to employment relations in SMEs.

Do not say a word! Conceptualizing employee silence in a long-term crisis context

“…In terms of employee relations, it has been argued that SMEs develop healthier employee relations than larger organizations (Forth, Bewley & Bryson, 2006) and that job satisfaction in SMEs is partly achieved through informal employee relations (Tsai, SenGupta & Edwards, 2007). Informal management practices are often utilized by SMEs in order to control their employees because formal communication and control structures do not exist (Wilkinson, 1999) or are seen as bureaucratic processes (Katz, Aldrich, Welbourne & Williams, 2000). Furthermore, small firms are mostly non-unionized as a result of the paternalistic nature of their employment relationship (Bae, Chuma, Kato, Kim & Ohashi, 2011) but may incorporate more direct and informal voice channels between employer and employees (Marlow & Gray, 2005), with the level of formalization depending on a variety of internal and external factors (Hay, Beattie, Livingstone & Munro, 2001;Kotey & Slade, 2005;Sameer & Ozbilgin, 2014).…”

The adoption of high performance work practices in small businesses: the influence of markets, business characteristics and HR expertise

“…However, while HPWPs are not completely absent within small businesses (Bacon, Ackers, Storey and Coates 1996;Forth, Bewley and Bryson 2006), it is generally accepted that their uptake is somewhat limited (Dundon and Wilkinson 2003;Wilkinson 1999). There may, therefore, be considerable value in seeking to identify the factors that are associated with the The extant literature suggests that the approach small businesses take to HRM (and hence the likelihood that they will introduce HPWPs) will be contingent on a range of factors.…”

Capital intelectual y competencias distintivas en pymes madereras de Argentina

“…Un elemento cultural importante en las pymes madereras está constituido por el saber hacer local, que normalmente está asociado a la madera existente en el territorio y le permite hacer productos más adaptados a los gustos de la zona que otras empresas foráneas. Además, estas pymes suelen estar formadas por grupos pequeños de personas con una cultura similar y una mayor proximidad, lo que mejora la comunicación y, por consiguiente, el clima de trabajo (Wilkinson, 1999), facilitando su coordinación para adaptarse a los cambios del entorno local.…”