Human Resource Development in SMEs: A Systematic Review of the Literature

Abstract

Human Resource Development (HRD) in small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) is a significant area of scholarship. However, the cumulativeness of research on HRD in SMEs remains relatively low when compared to HRD generally. This paper reports a systematic literature review (SLR) to synthesise research in this area. A disciplined screening process resulted in a final sample of 117 papers published in 31 journals from 1995 to 2014. The synthesis of these empirical and theoretical studies revealed that: (a) the literature utilises a narrow range of theoretical and conceptual perspectives; (b) HRD is being investigated across a variety of SME contexts, themes and units of analysis; (c) researchers define HRD in multiple ways and use a diverse set of measures of HRD activity; (d) there is significant potential for future research across the SME and HRD disciplines, SME settings and beyond existing theoretical perspectives. We offer suggestions for further advancing the development of this area of research in terms of theory, content and methodology.

How does self‐direction within learning operate to affect idea generation in small‐medium enterprise contexts?

“…This study contributes to the theory base regarding HRD in SME settings (Nolan & Garavan, ). It finds support for the view that an element of self‐directedness within learning (Knowles, ; Park & Kwon, ) links to idea generation within SME environments, but argues that the learning that supports idea generation should be conceptualized as codirected rather than self‐directed.…”

“…CDL, as a concept, better reflects the finding that multiple stakeholders have a presence in the learning process. It is, therefore, an important contribution to the literature discussing HRD in smaller organizational contexts (Nolan & Garavan, ), as well as the literature that links learning to creativity and innovation in SME settings (for example, Le, ; McLean, ; Saunders et al, ). Engaging in CDL may be construed as a response to the resource pressures facing SMEs (Hessels & Parker, ; Woschke et al, ), and a product of the strong internal focus in smaller firms (Kidwell et al, ; Rosenbusch & Cseh, ).…”

Stakeholders and Their Significance in Post Natural Disaster Reconstruction Projects: A Systematic Review of the Literature

“…The research adopted the SLR process recommended and adopted in various studies including Denyer and Tranfield (2009), Macpherson and Jones (2010), Yi and Yang (2014) and Nolan and Garavan (2015). Figure 3 provides a summary of the SLR process utilized to conduct this research study.…”

Entrepreneurs' human resources development

“…Entrepreneurs, the founders and owner managers of firms in dynamic environments, are usually confronted with resource constraints, their firms are characterized by informality, and they are particularly in high need for ideas and engagement from their employees. In entrepreneurial settings, HRD is usually on‐the‐job, experiential, reactively chosen, unsophisticated, or nonexistent (Hornsby & Kuratko, , ; Nolan & Garavan, ). Entrepreneurs often cannot enjoy fully fledged human resource departments; they initially are responsible for the development of employees themselves (Fox, ; Katz & Welbourne, ).…”

“…Which HRD approach is appropriate in the dynamic, uncertain, and informal environment of entrepreneurs is unclear so far (Cardon & Stevens, ; Marvel et al, ; Unger et al, ). More specifically, theoretical development of what potentially underlying strategic logic looks like remains lacking (Katz & Welbourne, ; Nolan & Garavan, ). In this study, we aimed to answer the question of how entrepreneurs develop human resources within their firms, and whether their approaches—although informal—could be considered strategic.…”