Globalisation of SMEs and implications for international human resource management research and practice

摘要

This paper includes a summary of selected research results on International Human Resource Management (IHRM) in Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs). Within the analysis and discussion, the focus is on specificities of SMEs, implicitly compared to Multinational Enterprises (MNEs). This paper first addresses the importance of the SME founder's profile in designing the internationalisation process. Then, particular features of HR practices in SMEs such as recruitment, selection and retention issues, human resource development practices and associated learning processes as well as expatriate management are analysed. Furthermore, the major problem of SMEs, the scarcity of resources, is discussed in the context of HRM. This analysis leads to implications for practice and for future research, mainly calling for more empirical studies and for a different approach to the strategic international management of human resources than in MNEs.