Innovation in SMEs
: Fostering Employee Innovative Work Behaviour through HRM Practices

  • Dorra Jebali

Student thesis: Doctoral Thesis

Abstract

SMEs represent the backbone of many economies given their vital role in creating new markets, driving technological advancements, and providing employment. Yet, in today’s intensely globalised markets and rapidly evolving business environments, SMEs are pressed to innovate in order to enhance their competitiveness and ensure growth. SMEs heavily depend on the innovative work behaviours (IWB) of their employees to drive innovation. A growing body of literature advocates that HRM practices serve as powerful tools for organisations to enhance their employees’ engagement in such behaviours. However, this research primarily concentrates on large firms where the adoption of HRM practices may significantly differ from that of SMEs. The inherent characteristics of SMEs, including their resource scarcity, make their HRM approaches distinctive and deserving of specific examination.

This thesis aims to explore the role of HRM practices in fostering employee innovative behaviours in SMEs. Adopting a qualitative approach, a total of 45 semi-structured interviews were conducted among owner-managers and employees from SMEs operating in the Tunisian technology sector. A thematic analysis of the collected data was completed resulting in the development of three main themes which highlight the importance of HRM practices related to reward and recognition, meaningful and challenging work, and empowering owner-employee relationships.

The study identified several HRM practices that are useful for promoting and facilitating IWB within SMEs based on both the perspectives of owner-managers and employees, such as managerial coaching and structured work autonomy. It provided details into the types of these practices, and the more specific activities they involve taking into consideration the characteristics of SMEs, namely their resource limitation and proximity between owner-managers and employees, as well as the cultural context in which these practices are adopted. Further, it enhanced the understanding of the mechanisms through which HRM practices impact IWB. Eventually, the findings led to suggesting a more nuanced and less static AMO model that not only provides further details about the specific HRM practices that can foster employees’ IWB in SMEs, but also establishes a connection between these practices, several individual and environmental factors namely, meaningfulness and interpersonal trust, and IWB.
Date of Award19 Aug 2024
Original languageEnglish
SupervisorShelley Harrington (Main Supervisor) & Ruth Brooks (Co-Supervisor)

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