High-performance work systems and the change management process in medium-sized firms

Abstract

Both high-performance work systems (HPWS) and SMEs have received growing attention in HRM research. However, the literature on HRM in SMEs has mainly focused on the issues of ‘homogeneity’ versus ‘heterogeneity’ behaviours, on the one hand, and on the antithesis between the ‘small is beautiful’ and the ‘bleak-house’ perspectives on the other. On the basis of original information acquired by means of a survey performed on more than 100 Italian firms and an in-depth study of eight of them, this study analyses the degree of adoption of HPWS and aspects related to the processes of change towards HPWS in medium-sized firms. We consider the main theoretical approaches that address the choices made by enterprises, paying particular attention to the role of organisational culture. The main findings show that: (1) decision-making power on work organisation is a prerogative of the owner and top management, while HRM functions play an important role mainly in the proposal-making stage; (2) change in smaller enterprises is managed autonomously by management, while worker involvement prevails in larger enterprises; and (3) strategies for change concentrate mainly on clearly identified occupational groups and they do not translate into a true paradigm of change in organisational management as a whole. These findings have major implications for future research and for the SME policy debate.

Keywords::

• high-performance work systems
• institutional context
• medium-sized firms
• organisational change management
• organisational culture
• organisational innovations
• SMEs

Acknowledgements

This work is based on some of the results of a research project conducted jointly by the Assolombarda Research Department and the Work Training and Welfare Research Centre of the University of Milan. We are grateful to the participants at the 22nd SASE meeting, in particular Matt Vidal and Adrian Wilkinson, and at the XI Italian Workshop of Organization Studies for their helpful suggestions. We would also like to thank the anonymous referees of the journal for their very useful comments. The usual disclaimers apply.