Labour flexibility practices in Dutch SMEs
| Autor: | A. Goudswaard, Nihat Dağ, Jan de Leede, S. Verbiest, Linda Drupsteen, Joost Van der Weide, Esther Schrijver |
|---|---|
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2020 |
| Předmět: |
Value (ethics)
Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management Flexibele arbeid media_common.quotation_subject SMEs Originality 0502 economics and business Dynamic capabiblities Labour flexibility Production (economics) Midden- en kleinbedrijf Applied Psychology Industrial organization media_common MKB Flexibility (engineering) Dynamic capabilities 05 social sciences 050209 industrial relations Focus group Labour market Product (business) Enterprises Business Small and medium-sized enterprises Case studies Qualitative 050203 business & management |
| Zdroj: | EmeraId Insight, 49(3), 791-807. Bingley: Emerald Group Publishing Personnel Review, 3, 49, 791-807 Personnel review. Emerald Group Publishing Ltd. |
| ISSN: | 0048-3486 |
| Popis: | Purpose The purpose of this paper is to understand how small and medium enterprises (SMEs) cope with the need for labour flexibility. Most previous studies ignore the labour flexibility practices of SMEs, especially in times of economic growth and tight labour markets. Design/methodology/approach A multiple case study approach is applied, with ten Dutch SMEs located in one small province with a similar labour market. A survey was executed as an intake, followed by 48 interviews with the entrepreneurs, HR and other managers and employees, and two focus groups in each company. The findings are based on an analysis of the approved case descriptions. Findings SMEs, like big companies, do not rely on one flexibility practice. Volume fluctuations are countered with all flexibility strategies, the mix fluctuations and the product innovations are mostly countered with flexible functions and flexible production technology. In general, the data suggest that flexibility strategies of SMEs can be characterised as ad hoc, reactive and with a short-term orientation. Research limitations/implications Future research should include other sectors and regions enabling to generalise the findings. Future research should have a longitudinal design to include the pathway dependencies of flexibility practices. Practical implications This study identifies the need to analyse flexibility demands; reduce flexibility demands before investments in flexibility practices; create production process flexibility; invest in labour flexibility practices only after the first three steps are taken; and develop basic and more advanced levels of flexible contracts, flexible functions and flexible working times. Originality/value This study contributes to the authors’ knowledge on the use of labour flexibility practices in SMEs. In addition, it brings empirical data on how these labour flexibility practices relate to the needs for flexibility and how they relate to other sources of organisational flexibility, such as a flexible market approach and flexible production technologies. Dynamic capabilities should include the suggested operationalisation of the flexibility practices. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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