High performance work practices in small firms:
a resource-poverty and strategic decision-making
perspective
Abstract High performancework practices (HPWPs)
are human resource management practices aimed at
stimulating employee and organisational performance.
The application of HPWPs is not widespread in small
organisations. We examine whether the implementation
of coherent bundles of HPWPs (aimed at
employee ability, employee motivation or at the
opportunity to perform) depends on the scarcity of
resources, as reflected in the size of the company, and
on strategic decision-making in small firms related to
the owner’s expertise and attitudes. In our research, a
total of 211 employees from 45 small organisations
were asked to rate the presence of HPWPs in their
organisation. These averaged perceptions were linked
to information provided by the owner–managers on the
size of their firm and their own expertise and attitudes.
The findings support that smaller but coherent bundles
of HPWPs can be found in small organisations and that
the implementation of these bundles depends on
available resources, strategic decision-making and
the combination of the two. These findings highlight
the need to integrate the notions of resource poverty
and strategic decision-making to understand the
uptake of bundles of HPWPs within small firms.