Examines the evidence for the utilization of human resource management approaches in smaller firms to shape employee relations in the UK. The influence of global change and volatile markets on the utilization of human resource management in the UK is considered and it is argued, that as small...

This paper discusses the utilisation of employee training and development initiatives in the UK focusing specifically upon the smaller firm. It is argued that to assess and evaluate differing levels of investment in employee development, it is essential to take account of firm size, firm sector...

The empirical evidence which underpins and illustrates labour management theory has been drawn from a range of case studies across industrial sectors sited, usually, within the corporate sector. This fails to recognise the importance of the smaller firm as an employer. At present, the study of...

It is agreed that within the UK there is a poor level of investment in formal training and development. This is particularly evident within the small firm sector. The literature, which considers this issue, concludes that there are a number of reasons why small firm owners are, on the whole,...

Discusses whether ethnic minority enterprise is a routinely rational economics activity, no different from other small‐scale endeavours, or whether it is a distinctive phenomenon which demonstrates the influence of cultural resources on entrepreneurial activities. Focuses on three themes which...

A key characteristic of small business service firms is their capacity to draw on similar businesses or self‐employed professionals in order to compete with large organisations. This paper presents a qualitative account of the ways in which three small firms from the business services sector...

Investors in People (IIP), the heavily promoted government initiative to enhance organisations’ training and development practices, is significant for its deliberate intention to influence the conduct of management within the firm. While previous studies of IIP have tended to concentrate on...

The issue of quality remains an integral feature of the discourse on small firm development. Unfortunately, two potentially conflicting approaches to this issue are evident. There is the essentially prescriptive “consultancy” school which often provides technical solutions uninformed by...

Small professional service firms constitute an important segment of the small business population. Explanations of the emergence, employment potential and economic contribution of such firms have been much debated. Yet, comparatively little is known of the “people dimension” in such...