Managerial learning and management development in New Zealand SMEs

Objectives: Managerial capability in New Zealand SMEs has been perceived by policy makers as a factor that has constrained SME growth and development (MED, 2008). The New Zealand Centre for SME Research (NZSMERC) has undertaken a programme of research on managerial capability in New Zealand SMEs. This paper reports findings from the Centre’s 2009 annual survey of 1500 SMEs, the BusinesSMEasure. The survey builds on a previous qualitative study and is part of a programme of research which had the following objectives: (1) to understand how SME owner-managers assess their development needs and how they meet these needs; (2) to assess the extent of participation in management development; and (3) to assess the perceived impact of management development on their business. Prior Work: Previous literature and research evidence with SME owner managers suggests a low take up of formal managerial development programmes and a reliance on incidental and informal managerial learning processes (Massey et al, 2005). NZSMERC’s previous qualitative study with 25 SME owner-managers (Battisti, et al, 2009), enabled the development of a conceptual framework and typology to explain orientation to learning and management development. Further, it allowed the identification of variables that affected attitudes to managerial learning and participation in management development. The survey has enabled the testing of some of the propositions from the qualitative stage, such as the importance of sources of managerial learning and the importance of variables that influence owner manager participation in management development. Approach: The 2009 BusinesSMEasure survey involved 4,165 firms (including 694 firms who responded in the 2007 and 743 firms who responded in 2008 survey). There were 1447 usable responses after excluding 297 ineligible and unreachable firms, which gave an overall response rate of 35%, Building on the previous qualitative study and utilising the adapted theoretical framework, we have applied non-parametric analysis to examine the significance of SME profile characteristics affecting against typologies of learning and management development. Exploratory factor analysis has been undertaken on the range of variables affecting managerial learning and development to reveal clusters of variables driving managerial learning and development. Hypotheses generated by literature and theory have been tested and regression modelling completed. Results: Survey findings suggest incidental and informal managerial learning processes were predominant modes of owner-manager learning. These types of learning were associated with practice-based and proximal sources of learning, as opposed to more distal sources. Significant variables that affected the type and sources of SME managerial learning were gender, age, learning orientation and a belief of self improvement. There was a strong link between innovation and engagement in management development. Firms with at least one type of innovation activity reported to be more engaged in management development across all three types of learning i.e. incidental, informal and formal. Theoretical developments in the literature are used to provide the basis for testing hypotheses associated with learning orientation and belief in self improvement Implications: The research undertaken by the Centre was driven by a policy imperative: to investigate the causes of an underlying trend in New Zealand SMEs which suggested that there was a lack of managerial capability in SMEs and a failure of SMEs to engage with formal management development initiatives. Having revealed the drivers of managerial development and sources of learning we develop implications for supply side management development programmes and policy interventions

An Exploratory Investigation into Voluntary Employee Turnover and Retention Practices in the Small Business Sector

Given the scant research on turnover and retention in small businesses, this study addresses the question: what factors influence voluntary employee turnover in small businesses and how do ownermanagers retain key employees? This question was broken into three research objectives. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews with nine owner-managers and seven employees from eleven Australian small businesses. Findings of this study identify adverse consequences of turnover, uncover antecedents of voluntary turnover, pinpoint small business characteristics that enhance employee retention and present a suite of small business employee retention strategies. Implications of the findings for management practice are explained. Limitations of the study and their implications for future research are also discussed

Women business owners’ start-up motivations and network content

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine how women small business owners’ (SBOs) business start-up motivations influence their network content. Design/methodology/approach – Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 28 women SBOs who were recruited through purposeful sampling methods. Interview data on their start-up motivations were used to categorise them into three types: classic, forced and work-family. The interviews explored the network contents of the three categories of participants. Findings – There were many similarities between network contents of classic and forced SBOs, as both groups had started their business for financial reasons rather than family reasons. All the participants’ networks contained information and advice, economic transactions, intangible support and strong ties. However, the sources and types of network content were different for the classic and forced SBOs when compared to work-family SBOs. Research limitations/implications – This study has limitations that tend to be commonly found in exploratory studies, such as a small sample size. However, the findings lay the groundwork for future quantitative studies that examine associations between SBOs’ motivations for starting a business and their network contents. Originality/value – This research responds to calls for studies aimed at developing a more nuanced understanding of SBOs’ networking behaviour. The study provides empirical evidence of a relationship between the motivations for starting a business and the network content of SBOs. The findings can be used by businesswomen’s network organisations in their mentoring and training interventions. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited

The Effects of Organisational Socialisation on Individual and Organisational Outcomes: A Review of the Literature and Directions for Future Research

Organisational socialisation (OS) is a critical process that all employees experience and the efficiency and effectiveness of the OS process impacts on the individual 's ability to adjust and perform, as well as the organisation's capacity to obtain employee commitment and retain staff. The purpose of this paper is to provide a review of the OS literature that examines the links between the OS process and important individual and organisational outcomes, in order to identify opportunities for further empirical research in this area. From a review of the literature undertaken, it was found that despite the strong arguments supporting the significance of OS and its links to important individual and organisational outcomes, important knowledge 'gaps’ exist in the OS literature. These include knowledge on the relationship between pre-encounter and encounter socialisation, the role of individual differences in newcomer adjustment, and the differences in OS approaches between small and large firms. The review of the literature also found significant methodological weaknesses in the literature. For instance, little research has examined OS from an employer and employee perspective. The paper concludes with suggestions for further research in order to stimulate study into particular aspects of OS

What knowledge, skills and attitudes should strategic HRM students acquire? A Delphi study

Much work has been done to identify competencies that HR practitioners need for a strategic HR role. However, little, if any, attention has been paid to the knowledge, skills and attitudes (KSAs) required of graduates entering the strategic HRM (SHRM) field. This study focuses on this area of neglect by employing the Delphi method to address the question: What core KSAs should SHRM students acquire? Three sequential questionnaires were administered to elicit opinions of leading academics and senior HR practitioners on KSAs that are important and to build consensus on the core KSAs. These processes generated ranked lists of 10 knowledge areas, 5 skills and 5 attitudes that will inform the design of curricula for undergraduate and postgraduate SHRM students

Complement Arities Between Recruitment and Selection Practices and Employee Learning in New Zealand Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises

As a response to comments by numerous authors about lack of attention given to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in human resource management (HRM) literature, this paper examines complementarities between recruitment and selection practices in SMEs and the work-related learning of newcomers. Data were collected through interviews with mainly owners/managers of 60 firms employing up to 50 staff. Analysis of the interviews suggests that the recruitment and selection practices used by some owners/managers had unintended positive effects on newcomers’ learning. Trusted current employees were encouraged to recruit new staff from their networks of family and friends. Sponsors often took the initiative in supporting newcomers on their pathways of work-related learning. Also, some owners/managers used selection methods; that involved candidates demonstrating their skills on-the-job, through work samples or work trials. These selection methods yield, as a by-product, information about candidates’ learning needs. Such information assists workplace models who guide learning of select tasks appropriate to the learner's level of development. The paper concludes that researchers should pay less attention to traditional HRM functions and start to focus on complementarities that might exist among HRM practices. Such a focus may be more consistent with the ways owners/managers view managing human resources

Using the Delphi Technique to Identify Components of a Tertiary Strategic HRM Curriculum

This study sought to identify key knowledge, skills and attitudes required of SHRM graduates as identified by experts in the academic and practitioner fields. The Delphi technique was selected as it has been used effectively in other contexts to develop consensus amongst experts for a range of purposes, including curriculum design. Explanation of this technique, the rationale for its use and reflections on its use in curriculum design by both participants and researchers is provided

Expectations, Experiences and Resultant Outcomes During the Socialisation of Newcomers in Small Manufacturing Firms: A Socialisation Agent Perspective

The extent to which pre­employment (pre­encounter) and post­employment (encounter) expectations and experiences of both newcomers and organisational insiders (socialisation agents) are met during the socialisation of newcomers are critical in determining newcomer adjustment, establishing person–organisation (P­O) and person­job (P­J) fit, and in achieving organisational socialisation (OS) outcomes such as performance, job satisfaction and intention to stay/quit. The purpose of this paper is to examine pre­encounter and encounter expectations and experiences of newcomers and socialisation agents and resultant outcomes during the socialisation of newcomers in small manufacturing firms, from the perspectives of socialisation agents. Data were collected regarding the socialisation of newcomers through semi­ structured interviews (incorporating critical incidents) with socialisation agents. Findings of this exploratory qualitative study indicate that expectations are created for both newcomers and socialisation agents during pre­ encounter socialisation processes such as recruitment and selection, as well as through information obtained from other sources. The extent to which experiences match these expectations during the OS process, affect aspects such as newcomer adjustment, P­O fit and key outcomes that include task performance and turnover. The implications of these findings for practice are highlighted and the paper concludes with suggestions for further research

An exploratory study of factors influencing the participation in training and development of engineers in small businesses

The provision of workforce training and development (T&D) has the potential to provide benefits to both employers and employees. However, employees in small businesses receive less access to T&D than employees in large businesses. Prior research into reasons for the relatively low levels of employee participation in formal T&D in small businesses has typically involved surveys of owner-manager opinions regarding ‘barriers’ to T&D. This study explored factors influencing employee participation in T&D from the perspective of employees. Data were collected through semistructured interviews with 15 employees in small engineering businesses. Consistent with the main aim of exploratory research, the study produced (four) generalisations that are grounded in the interview data. These generalisations help establish the groundwork for future studies

Access to training and development in small and medium-sized enterprises: Employee\u27s perspectives

This paper provides an overview of a proposed study that aims to identify the perceived factors that prevent employees from initiating requests and participating in formal external employer-funded training and development opportunities within small and medium enterprises. While training and development has the potential to improve an employee\u27s remuneration and increase their employability, the level of training and development in small and medium enterprises is well below that of larger organisations. Although the small business owners retain the final decision regarding employee access to training and development, the outcome is also dependent upon employees\u27 decisions to intiate requests to participate in the available training and development opportunities. There is scant research into employees\u27 perceptions of the factors influencing the participation in employer-funded training and development opportunities. This paper intends to address this gap in knowledge by conducting 20 semi-structured interviews with employees in five Australian small and medium enterprises. It is anticipated that the collection data will provide information on the factors that prevent employees from requesting and participating in training and development opportunities