HRM Intensity, Corporate Entrepreneurship and Organisational Learning Capability in SMEs: What is the Relationship?

The general purpose of this proposed study is to analyse the effect of HRM practices on corporate entrepreneurship (CE) and organisational learning capability (OLC) in the SMEs in Malaysia. HRM practices in this study will encompass training and development, performance appraisal, incentive and compensation, teamworking, and recruitment and selection. With the exception of teamworking, all the other domains match the four HRM functions proposed by Fombrun et al. (1984) and four of the six HRM domains proposed by Way (2002). Specifically, the main aim of the study will be to examine the effect of each component of HRM on the three dimensions of CE (innovation, corporate venturing, and strategic renewal) as well as the effect on four dimensions of OLC (managerial commitment, systems perspective, openness and experimentation, and knowledge transfer). By setting out to validate the effect of HRM practices on CE and OLC in SMEs, this study will make a significant contribution to HRM literature by empirically examining the significance of each HRM component on each dimension of CE and OLC. This is in response to call for studies to relate selected HRM practices to individual CE dimensions (Schmelter et al., 2010). Furthermore, I seek to contribute to the literature by identifying the significance of each HRM component on each dimension of OLC.