The perceptions of human resource development professionals in Taiwan regarding their working relationships with subject matter experts (SMEs) during the training design process

While the literature supports the importance of establishing a relationship between designers and subject matter experts (SMEs) in the training design process, this approach is not followed in all global practices. The purpose of this study was to identify the perceptions of human resource development professionals in Taiwan regarding their working relationships with SMEs. The respondents of the study were HRD professionals who worked in high-tech companies located in a science park in Taiwan. The study found that a significant relationship exists between the ability to work with SMEs and current ability in the training design process among HRD professionals who had worked with SMEs. This study provides implications for the professional development of HRD practitioners and HRD practice in Taiwan companies. Cross-cultural issues are discussed to explain inconsistencies between the results and US-based perspectives on the training design process.     

‘Training,it's a load of crap!’: the story of the hairdresser and his ‘Suit’

Many managers of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are more concerned about survival rather than growth. There are consistent findings that indicate managers in SMEs do not respond favourably to offers of HRD interventions and government policy now recognizes the value of informal learning and demand-led intervention. A social constructionist approach is suggested to consider engaging and working with SME managers. A framework of SME ‘worlds’ is considered before the case of one SME is examined. Using data from three different sources, the various positionings are considered. The case shows how from an apparently antagonistic view of external training, the manager was prepared to allow a coach/mentor to work with him towards his vision for expansion and growth. Conclusions are provided concerning engagement and stretch with SMEs, policy and future funding for HRD and the definition of skills development.     

Inter-organizational relationships involving SMEs: A bibliographic investigation into the state of the art

The theme of inter-organizational relationships involving SMEs (SME IORs) has generated a relevant body of knowledge that has not been systematized yet. This article carries out a systematic literature review on SME IORs using bibliometric techniques, aiming to provide an overview of the main subfields of research and to identify promising paths for future research that can contribute to develop a more comprehensive body of knowledge around SME IORs.Four factors of thematically connected research emerge, which represents the main subfields of inquiry within the field of SME IORs. Insights regarding the content of these topics, the different theoretical foundations of the literature on SME IORs, and potential paths for future research are discussed.     

中小企业生存与发展的理论基础

中小企业不是规模小的大企业,中小企业政策及其研究工作需要体现小企业的本质特点,理解中小企业生存与发展的理论基础。本文在大量经典文献资料的基础上,对一些相关理论观点进行了归纳、整理,目的在于识别影响和决定中小企业成长的关键因素,理解和把握中小企业的生存发展规律,进而给从事创业的企业家和中小企业经营管理者提供支持,为政府制订面向中小企业的支援体系建设提供理论依据,为在我国开展实证研究提供理论框架。     

Knowledge management for food supply chain synergies – a maturity level analysis of SME companies

Abstract

Despite the considerable number of papers addressing knowledge management (KM) aspects in supply chains, many research issues in the area are still neglected. One of the main research gaps in this field concerns the maturity level of KM practices adoption by small and medium enterprises (SMEs). This paper addresses this research gap by developing a framework to support the analysis of the maturity level of KM adoption in an SME context. The framework is applied in a multiple case study developed to investigate the extent to which SMEs operating in the food sector are deploying KM practices to support more sustainable initiatives. By relating KM maturity levels, perspectives and processes to sustainable practices concerning food waste and by-product synergies, the paper makes an original contribution to advance theory and practice in the area. The paper also points out potential barriers that companies face to implement sustainability-related KM practices.     

SME internationalisation process: Key issues and contributions,existing gaps and the future research agenda

The literature that studies internationalisation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), despite being only recent, has already become very extensive and fragmented, taking different approaches and contributing across diverse facets of internationalisation. There is also a need to analyse and systematise those issues that have received the attention in the field of SME internationalisation. This study aims to develop a systematic literature review on SME internationalisation. We correspondingly make recourse to the Web of Science and Scopus database, and analyse a total of 366 articles, spanning the period from 1995 to 2017, to identify the core issues and contributions made by the existing literature. The results enable the categorisation of the existing literature into three main areas of research: i) Internationalisation process, ii) Specific factors/variables influencing internationalisation; and iii) Internationalisation and performance. This structuring then establishes the grounds for grasping the gaps existing in the literature and to propose a future research agenda.     

Corporate eLearning: Human resource development implications for large and small organizations

Abstract

This paper compares and contrasts the current attitudes towards, awareness of and take-up of eLearning in large and small organizations and outlines the implications for human resource development (HRD) professionals. An in-depth study was conducted in Ireland with a number of large multinational organizations and a number of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the engineering, electronics, aerospace, pharmaceutical and medical device sectors. The study focused on awareness, perceptions, technology support infrastructure, current and planned involvement, most frequent and most preferred methods of delivery, benefits, barriers, the motivational factors and overall attitudes to eLearning. The comparison describes a number of similarities and a number of differences both within the large organization sector and within the SME sector and between the two sectors. Finally, the implications for HRD professionals are discussed.     

Greenfield Investment versus Akquisition

Based on neo-institutionalism, the present paper examines the moderating impact of perceived institutional uncertainty on the foreign establishment mode choice (i.e. the decision between greenfield versus acquisition) of German SMEs. The empirical findings demonstrate that the extent of perceived institutional uncertainty moderates the relationship between the investment volume, market growth and the decision between greenfield and acquisition. Focusing on the perceived institutional uncertainty, the paper adheres to the fact that due to limited resources of SMEs, SME managers often cannot make their managerial decisions based on profound knowledge from prior market analysis, but they have to follow their own intuition and perception. The key contribution of this paper is hence on the link between frequently studied establishment mode choice predictors and perceived institutional uncertainty of SME managers. This focus contributes to resolving some of the inconsistencies in previous research and to emphasize SMEs which have been largely neglected in prior literature.     

How do boards of directors contribute to family SME export intensity? The role of formal and informal governance mechanisms

Internationalization is a strong challenge that firms have to face today. However, small and medium-sized family firms internationalize their business after consolidating their position in domestic markets. Family SMEs approach international markets usually through export activities. Considerable academic attention has been given to family SME export behaviour, however, the debate is still inconclusive. Therefore, more attention on family SME unique governance mechanisms may shed a new light on this issue. The paper analyses family SME export intensity by showing how the board of directors could provide assistance in the selection and implementation of this strategy. We explore whether, and to what extent, both formal and informal features of boards of directors (dual governance) influence family SME export intensity. This is explored in a sample of 101 Norwegian family SMEs. Export intensity is the dependent variable and hypotheses on the positive effect of independence in board behaviour (formal governance mechanism), relational norms and trust (informal governance mechanisms) are supported. The paper has substantial theoretical contributions and practical implications. The results show that formal and informal governance mechanisms can co-exist complementing and supplementing each other, thus positively influencing family SME export intensity.     

Maternity Management in SMEs: A Transdisciplinary Review and Research Agenda

This paper provides a transdisciplinary critical review of the literature on maternity management in small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs), embedded within the wider literatures on maternity in the workplace. The key objectives are to describe what is known about the relations that shape maternity management in smaller workplaces and to identify research directions to enhance this knowledge. The review is guided by theory of organizational gendering and small business management, conceptualizing adaptions to maternity as a process of mutual adjustment and dynamic capability within smaller firms’ informally negotiated order, resource endowments and wider labour and product/service markets. A context‐sensitive lens is also applied. The review highlights the complex range of processes involved in SME maternity management and identifies major research gaps in relation to pregnancy, maternity leave and the return to work (family‐friendly working and breastfeeding) in these contexts. This blind spot is surprising, as SMEs employ the majority of women worldwide. A detailed agenda for future research is outlined, building on the gaps identified by the review and founded on renewed theoretical direction.     

Operations Strategy Research in the POMS Journal

In this paper, we examine the operations strategy literature in the POMS journal to determine what has been learned and to suggest new directions for further study in this important area of research. Our review of this literature resulted in the selection of thirty‐one relevant articles, many of which draw upon multiple theoretical perspectives. We identify eight such theoretical perspectives, and go on to classify these perspectives in terms of the scope of inquiry employed in the research (focused versus aggregated) and the researcher's assumptions about choice processes (behavioral versus rational). In doing so, we show that this body of work is dominated by papers that draw upon theoretical perspectives enabling a more holistic scope of inquiry, with a bias towards a view of strategy as a highly rational process. Building on our systematic review and integration of the literature, we suggest multiple areas for future research.     

External resource provision and the international performance of SMEs – A contextual analysis

This paper investigates whether different categories of links (core and discretionary) to external resource providers are associated with the international performance of SMEs, as well as the perceived importance of external links for providing specific forms of assistance toward internationalization. A study of 180 internationally active SMEs examines whether these features vary according to the SMEs' contexts, specifically their industry and level of home economy development. The relevance of these two contexts is theoretically informed by resource dependence, environmental munificence and institutional perspectives. SME decision-makers' attribution of importance to discretionary external links predicts stronger international performance, but this is not the case with core market transactional links. Different external parties emerge as important sources of specific forms of assistance toward internationalization. Many of these results are associated with the SME's industry and home economy context. The paper concludes with a new contextually-informed model of SME egocentric networking and implications for practice.     

Exploring a theoretical foundation for HRD in society: toward a model of stakeholder-based HRD

This article explores a theoretical foundation of human resource development (HRD) that can be adopted to explain the increasing use of HRD interventions and practices in the wider context of society and the world. While there has been growing interest in and literature about the societal meaning of HRD, previous research has focused mostly on HRD practices and lacked a theoretical framework that could explain and characterize the interactions between HRD and society. Based on a review of current approaches to the HRD–society nexus, we suggest that the nexus can be better understood when complex interactions between internal and external stakeholders of an organization are recognized, and we introduce the stakeholder-based HRD (SBHRD) model as a tool for identifying the interactions between HRD and society and the characteristics of the interactions with regard to plurality, interdependency, and legitimacy. The SBHRD model carries theoretical implications of possible changes in the epistemology of HRD, pushing forward well-being as the purpose of HRD, and enlarging HRD research topics. From a practical standpoint, the SBHRD model enhances the value of social responsibilities of corporations and ethical management, enlarges the scope and beneficiaries of HRD activities, increases the opportunities of collaboration with adult education, and points to different modes of communication in practice.     

Of those who plan: A meta-analysis of the relationship between human capital and business planning

Business planning is a popular managerial practice, especially in the SME context. Yet, literature presents diverging perspectives regarding business planning and the role it fulfills for the individuals leading these organizations. To advance research, we focus on evidence regarding factors that determine whether and how individuals engage in business planning. Drawing on human capital concepts and the theory of planned behavior, we scrutinize how education and different prominent work experience types influence business planning behaviors. We use meta-analysis to aggregate data on 8095 observations leading SMEs from 31 independent data sets. We find critical differences in planning behaviors relating to human capital types, as well as to whether individuals engage in substantive planning processes or the specific preparation of a formal business plan. Implications of our findings for research on business planning are discussed.     

Efficiency and effectiveness of knowledge management systems in SMEs

This paper proposes a 3D fuzzy logic methodology to assess the efficiency and effectiveness of knowledge management systems (KMSs) adopted by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and identifies a classification bringing together the behaviour of SMEs when adopting KMSs. The proposed methodology was previously tested on an individual SME and then implemented on a sample of SMEs. The results highlight that there is an ample variety of behaviours related to the nature of knowledge and the KMSs used. Specifically, four typologies of behaviour are identified: the efficient and effective SME, the effective but inefficient SME, the efficient but ineffective SME, and the inefficient and ineffective SME. The results show that only 18% of surveyed SMEs are efficient and effective for both KM-Tools and KM-Practices, the remaining 82% are inefficient or ineffective for KM-Tools and/or KM-Practices. Lastly, the paper shows how this methodology may be used by an SME as a managerial tool to suggest appropriate changes to improve the efficient and effective adoption of KMSs supporting SMEs in the knowledge management processes.     

Supporting open innovation with the use of a balanced scorecard approach: a study on deep smarts and effective knowledge transfer to SMEs

Abstract

This study aims to develop the theory of knowledge management and organizational performance within a small and medium enterprise (SME) context using action research (AR) involving a higher education institution (HEI) and an SME. The vehicle for the knowledge exchange was Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs), the United Kingdom’s primary mechanism for delivering government funded knowledge transfer to small and medium enterprises (SMEs). KTPs facilitate knowledge exchange from HEIs to SMEs via the recruitment of a graduate plus an academic supervisor from the partnering HEI. The AR study was an award-winning KTP and the project deliverable included the implementation of a balanced scorecard for the SME to improve organizational performance. The transfer of knowledge was subsequently fed-back into the university in order to develop a performance framework for measuring the effectiveness of KTP research within the HEI in order to share knowledge and improve effective for other KTP projects.     

HRD standards and standardization: where now for human resource development?

This paper examines standard-setting and standardization processes currently being undertaken in the human resources field and makes a ‘call to action’ for human resource development (HRD) scholars and practitioners to influence these developments. The paper provides a reflexive ‘insider account’ of HR standards development combining personal experience with theoretical perspectives; ‘grey’ and practitioner literatures; and secondary data sources. Drawing on scholarly literature sources, opportunities and dilemmas of standardization processes in the HR field are discussed. Grounded in the standardization literature, alternative approaches to system-wide (meta) standards are identified. Drawing on publically available information, different standardization approaches in USA and UK are discussed. The paper critiques the dominant performance-orientated paradigm and ‘rules-based’ approach to standards and argues for an alternative, principles-based approach for HR standardization to support sustainable individual and organizational performance. These issues have important consequences for HRD identity, pedagogy, education, and practice. In addition to the development of an original typology of emerging HR standardization, the paper contributes a new perspective to debates about the identity, values, purpose, and contribution of HRD and the relationship between HRD and human resource management (HRM).     

The role of HRD in bridging the research-practice gap: the case of learning and development

ABSTRACT

An enduring challenge for HRD is ensuring academic research achieves impact on professional practice. We have located this research within debates about the research-practice gap. To investigate this challenge, we analyse case studies of academic impact from all disciplines submitted to the United Kingdom’s 2014 research assessment exercise (REF 2014). We found that Learning and Development was a primary focus of significant number of impact case studies submitted across all disciplines compared to other areas of HR and HRD. We also found that Learning and Development was a key path to Impact. These findings reveal that Learning and Development in a work context plays a pivotal role in helping researchers irrespective of discipline achieve impact. Our findings therefore speak to the research-practice gap across academia. We conclude by considering the potential role for HRD in generating impact.     

Supply chain agility as an acclimatisation process to environmental uncertainty and organisational vulnerabilities: insights from British SMEs

Abstract

Even though supply chain agility (SCA) has been considered an essential concept in supply chain management (SCM) research, the way it is experienced and manifested, especially by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), has received much less attention. Our purpose is to focus on SME organisational vulnerabilities in the context of increased environmental uncertainty, and explore how SCA is developed and applied by SMEs amid their vulnerabilities. By relying on insights from comparative case studies of three British SMEs, we examine SME SCA as an acclimatisation process and delve into SMEs’ experiences of facing environmental uncertainty while developing and applying SCA. Our findings highlight that organisational attitudes underlie how SMEs perceive environmental uncertainty, tackle organisational vulnerabilities and develop SCA as an acclimatisation process. Our findings also reveal that resource constraints, supply chain relationships, interorganisational power dynamics, and access to information play important roles in developing SCA.     

SCOPE framework for SMEs: A new theoretical lens for success and internationalization

The purpose of this paper is to propose a new framework: SCOPE - to postulate strategies for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to export, compete, and succeed in the global market. SCOPE stands for Strategies to analyze the Challenges, Opportunities, and Problems to succeed in Exporting. A multiple case study method was employed based on semi-structured interviews with senior managers of different SMEs from three European countries. It was found that SMEs face internal and external challenges. This is complemented by a Pentagon model. This framework could be employed as a theoretical lens to critically examine the antecedents and outcome of SME internationalization.