ECU Expert for Small Business HRM
Monday, 12 April 2010
Head of Management, Professor Rowena Barrett, has recently written an article entitled “Correlates of perceiving human resource management as a ‘problem’ in small firms”.
Soon to be released in the Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, the article was co-authored by Dr Michael Meyer of De Montfort University (UK), who provided the statistical knowledge to analyse the Australian collected data.
The paper investigates factors likely to correlate with HRM being perceived as a problem in smaller firms, and subsequently providing assistance to help effectively target and solve the perceived problem with HRM.
Research was collected from a survey of over 1200 small firms in south east Melbourne, with findings recognising that managerial issues often result from a firm’s phase of growth, as well as the manner in which an owner-manager’s capacity and characteristics affect their interpretation of such.
Coinciding with her new article, Rowena then attended the HRM, SME, and Entrepreneurship Conference hosted by the European Council of Small Business in Montpellier, France.
In doing so, Rowena gave a key note address regarding her book, “The International Handbook of Human Resource Management and Entrepreneurship”, of which she was a notable contributor.
This invaluable reference tool has been designed in response to the growing recognition that too little is known about the intersection between entrepreneurship and human resource management.
Paying particular attention to the ‘people’ side of venture emergence and development, it offers unique insights into the role that human resource management (HRM) plays in small and entrepreneurial firms.
To learn more about Professor Barrett’s research, please contact her directly as r.barrett@ecu.edu.au