Faithin Omaha eBook Collection

Download or read book SME Internationalization and Human Resource Management written by Hye Won Chang and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page 172 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Human Resource Management (HRM) is defined by Boxall and Purcell (2000) as including “anything and everything associated with the management of employment relations in the firm” (p.184). Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) is defined by Wright and McMahan (1992) as “the pattern of planned human resource deployments and activities intended to enable an organization to achieve its goals” (p.298). The foundation of Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) begins from the concept that in knowledge-driven, global economies, it is the intellectual and social capital of the firm that is a source of competitive advantage rather than physical or financial assets (Finegold & Frenkel, 2006). For Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) competing in high technological environments such as those in the life sciences, it is important that firms are able to attract, motivate and retain talent in accordance with the stage of their firm and their internationalization strategy (Finegold & Frenkel, 2006; Ho, Wilson, & Chen, 2010; Hornsby & Kuratko, 2003; Onkelinx, Manolova, & Edelman, 2016). Although there has been recent interest from researchers investigating the relationship between HRM, SME firm performance and HRM associated to internationalization, there is a gap in literature focusing on the relationship between all three matters: Human Resource (HR) practices in internationalizing SMEs. The findings of this exploratory study on life science SMEs in New Zealand are that despite supporting research which recommends founders/CEOs to implement strategic HR enhancing practices to support firm growth and performance, informality is still common place amongst life science SMEs. Secondly, there is a clear disconnect between HRM practices implemented and the firm’s business strategy for international growth, indicating that life science SMEs in New Zealand are not aligning human resources of the firm to address the liabilities of foreignness. Finally, the study provides an insight to the HR practices in place by resource constrained life science SMEs in their efforts to support firm performance and survival in international markets.