Towards a framework of contextual human resource management practices for internationalising SMEs

Abstract

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) face several strategic, financial and manpower related challenges as they embark on the internationalisation journey. While internationalisation is a growth imperative for SMEs, they are often not equipped to handle these challenges well enough. Lack of trained manpower, knowledge, skills and expertise may lead to erroneous decisions thereby jeopardising the internationalisation process. SMEs find it difficult to absorb such delays and cost owing to limited resources. The limited availability of resources also induces the decision makers to overlook development of human resource practices in favour of more immediate business concerns. With this background, this study attempts to develop a framework of context-specific human resource management practices to meet SME internationalisation challenges. This study explores the organisational needs of SMEs in different stages of internationalisation from the lens of human resource management. This exploration serves as a basis for developing the characteristics of key HRM practices for different phases in SME internationalisation. Propositions are presented and areas for future research are specified, mainly calling for more empirical studies with a different human resource perspective of SMEs.