A kicsi szép?
Tanulás és fejlődés a kisvállalkozásokban
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14267/VEZTUD.2020.01.01Keywords:
small firms, workplace learning, formal and informal learning, networks, qualitative researchAbstract
This article investigates the process of workplace learning in small firms in a Hungarian context. The exploratory study focuses upon two small firm-specific factors having a crucial impact on workplace learning, namely the role of the owner/ manager and the role of networks in small firms’ learning. Building upon 11 semi-structured qualitative interviews with owners/managers of small businesses, the study addresses three main research questions: (1) What specificities of workplace learning in small firms can be identified? (2) What role does the owner/manager play in shaping the learning environment in small businesses? (3) How can the owner/manager’s networking activities contribute to effective learning in small businesses? The results suggest that, although often not addressed as learning, small business owners very consciously develop and manage the learning process and environment in their firms.
Downloads
References
Anderson, V. & Boocock G. (2002). Small firms and internationalisation: learning to manage and managing to learn. Human Resource Management Journal, 12(3), 5-24.
Baptista Nunes M., Fenio Annansingh, M., Eaglestone B. & Wakefield R. (2006). Knowledge Management Issues in Knowledge-Intensive SMEs. Journal of Documentation, 62(1), 101–119.
Beaver, G. & Lashley, C. (1998). Barriers to Management Development in Small Hospitality Firms. Strategic Change, 7, 223–235. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1099-1697(199806/07)7:43.0.CO;2-H.
Billett, S. (2002). Critiquing Workplace Learning Discourses: Participation and Continuity at Work. Studies in the Education of Adults, 34(1), 56–67.
Boud, D. & Garrick, J. (2001). Understandings of Workplace Learning. In D. Boud & J. Garrick (Eds.), Understanding Learning at Work (pp. 1–12). London: Routledge.
Chell, E. & Baines, S. (2000). Networking, entrepreneurship and microbusiness behaviour. Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 12(3), 195-215.
Coetzer, A. & Perry, M. (2008). Factors Influencing Employee Learning in Small Businesses. Education+Training, 50(8/9), 648–660. https://doi.org/10.1108/00400910810917037.
Coetzer, A., Kock, H. & Wallo,A. (2017). Distinctive Characteristics of Small Businesses as Sites for Informal Learning. Human Resource Development Review, 16(2), 111–134. https://doi.org/10.1177/1534484317704291
Colley, H., Hodkinson, P. & Malcolm, J. (2002). Nonformal learning: mapping the conceptual terrain, a consultation report. Leeds: University of Leeds Lifelong Learning Institute. Retrieved from http://www.infed.org/archives/etexts/colley_informal_learning.htm
Csontos R. S. & Szabó Zs. R. (2019). Hálózati tanulás – tanuló hálózatok. Vezetéstudomány, 50(1), 2-13. https://doi.org/10.14267/VEZTUD.2019.01.01
Devins, D., Johnson, S. & Sutherland, J. (2004). Employer characteristics and employee training outcomes in UK SMEs: A multivariate analysis. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 11(4), 449-457.
EIS – European Innovation Scoreboard (2017). Comparative Analysis of Innovation Performance. Brussels: Commission of the European Communities. Retrieved from https://ec.europa.eu/docsroom/documents/24829
Elkjaer, B. & Wahlgren, B. (2005). Organizational Learning and Workplace Learning-Similarities and Differences In E. Antonacopoulou, P. Jarvis, V. Andersen, B. Elkjaer, & S. Høyrup (Eds.), Learning, Working and Living (pp. 15–32). New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
European Commission (2003). Commission Recommendation of 6 May 2003 concerning the definition of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (notified under document number C(2003) 1422)
Fuller, A. & Unwin, L. (2003). Learning as apprentices in the contemporary UK workplace: creating and managing expansive and restrictive participation. Journal of Education and Work, 16(4), 407–426.
Fuller, A. & Unwin, L. (2004). Expansive Learning Environments: Integrating Organizational and Personal Development. In H. Rainbird, A. Fuller, & A. Munro (Eds.), Workplace Learning in Context (pp. 126–44). London: Routledge.
Gibb, A. A. (1997). Small Firms’ Training and Competitiveness. Building upon the Small Business as a Learning Organisation. International Small Business Journal, 15(3), 13–29. https://doi.org/10.1177/0266242697153001.
Gittins, T. & Fink, M. (2015). Return migration, informal learning, human capital development and SME internationalization in the CEE region: A systematic literature review. Journal of East European Management Studies, 20(3), 279–303. https://doi.org/10.5771/0949-6181-2015-3-279
Grey, C. & Mabey, C. (2005). Management Development. Key Differences between Small and Large Businesses in Europe. International Small Business Journal, 23(5), 467-485.
Hamlin, B. & Stewart, J. (2011). What is HRD? A definitional review and synthesis of the HRD domain. Journal of European Industrial Training, 35(3), 199–220.
Harney, B. & Nolan, C. (2014). HRM in Small and Medium-Sized Firms (SMEs). In B. Harney & K. Monks (Eds.), Strategic HRM: Research and Practice in Ireland (pp. 153–169). Dublin: Orpen Press.
Higgins, D., Mirza, M. & Drozynska, A.. (2013). Power, politics & learning: a social enactment of the SME owner/manager. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 20(3), 470-483. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSBED-04-2013-0050
Hill, R. & Stewart, J. (2000). Human Resource Development in Small Organizations. Journal of European Industrial Training, 24(2/3/4), 105–117.
Iles, P. & Yolles, M. (2004). HRD and knowledge migration in SME-academic partnerships: the technology translator project. In J. Stewart, & G. Beaver (Eds.), HRD in Small Organisations (pp. 168–184). London: Routledge.
Kárpátiné Daróczi J ., Vágány, J . & Fenyvesi, É. (2016). Fejlődünk, hogy fejlődhessünk? – avagy milyen önképzési módszereket részesítenek előnyben a mikro- és kisvállalkozások vezetői napjainkban Magyarországon? Vezetéstudomány, 47(12), 72-82. https://doi.org/10.14267/VEZTUD.2016.12.07
Kása, R., Radácsi, L. & Csákné Filep, J. (2017). Családi Vállalkozások Magyarországon. Working Paper Series 4. Budapest Business School: Budapest LAB Entrepreneurship Center.
Keats, D. (2000). Interviewing: A Practical Guide for Students and Professionals. Buckingham: Open University Press.
Keith, N., Unger, M. J., Rauch, A. & Frese, M. (2016). Informal Learning and Entrepreneurial Success: A Longitudinal Study of Deliberate Practice among Small Business Owners. Applied Psychology, 65(3), 515–540. https://doi.org/10.1111/apps.12054
Keogh, W., Mulvie, A. & Cooper, S. (2005). The Identification and Application of Knowledge Capital within Small Firms. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 12(1), 76–91.
Kerr, A. & McDougall, M. (1999). The Small Business of Developing People. International Small Business Journal, 17(2), 65–74.
Khosla, R. & Sharma. P.K. (2014). Training and Development Practices in Small and Medium Enterprises: Exploring a Conceptual Framework. Pacific Business Review International, 6(12), 105-112.
Kitching, J. (2007). Regulating employment relations through workplace learning: a study of small employers. Human Resource Management Journal, 17(1), 42-57.
Kitching, J. (2008). Rethinking UK small employers’ skills policies and the role of workplace learning. International Journal of Training and Development, 12(2), 100-121
Kolb, D. (1984). Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Kopfer-Rácz, K., Hofmeister-Tóth, K. A. & Sas, D. (2013). A hazai kis- és közepes vállalatok szociokulturális beállítódása a Hofstede-dimenziók mentén. Vezetéstudomány, 44(10), 2-11.
Kotey, Bernice & Folker, C. (2007). Employee training in SMEs: Effect of size and firm type. Family and nonfamily. Journal of Small Business Management, 45(2), 214-238.
Kvale, S. (1995). The Social Construction of Validity. Qualitative Inquiry, 1(1), 19–40.
Kvale, S. (2007). Doing Interviews. London: Sage.
Kyndt, E. & Herman Baert, H. (2013). Antecedents of employees’ involvement in work-related learning: A systematic review. Review of Educational Research, 83(2), 273-313. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654313478021
Lange, T., Ottens, M. & Taylor, A. (2000). SMEs and barriers to skills development: a Scottish perspective. Journal of European Industrial Training, 24(1), 5-11
Lapré, M. A. & Nembhard, I. M. (2017). Deliberate Learning. In L. Argote, J. & M. Levine (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Group and Organizational Learning. Oxford: Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190263362.013.25
Lewis, K. & Coetzer, A. (2009). Human resource management in small firms: Effective informality. In M. Fink & S. Kraus (Eds.), The management of small and medium enterprise (pp. 95-107). New York: Routledge.
Macpherson, A. & Holt, R. (2007). Knowledge, learning and small firm growth: a systematic review of the evidence. Research Policy, 36(2), 172–192.
Manuti, A., Pastore, S., Scardigno, A. F., Giancaspro, M. L. & Morciano, D. (2015). Formal and Informal Learning in the Workplace: A Research Review. International Journal of Training and Development, 19(1), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1111/ ijtd.12044
Marshall, C. & Rossman, G. B. (1999). Designing qualitative research (3rd ed.). London: Sage Publications.
Marsick, V. & Watkins, K. E. (2001). Informal and incidental learning. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, (89), 25-34.
Marzec, I., van der Heijden, B. I. J. M., Scholarios, D., van der Schoot, E., Jędrzejowicz, P., Bozionelos, N. & Epitropaki, O. (2009). Employability management practices in the Polish ICT sector. Human Resource Development International, 12(5), 471–492.
Nolan, C. T. & Garavan, T. N. (2015). Human resource development in SMEs: a systematic review of the literature. International Journal of Management Reviews, 18(1), 85–107. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijmr.12062
Panagiotakopoulos, A. (2011). Workplace Learning and Its Organizational Benefits for Small Enterprises: Evidence from Greek Industrial Firms. The Learning Organization, 18(5), 350–360. https://doi.org/10.1108/09696471111151701
Perry, J., Badger, B., Lean, J. & Leybourne, S. (2010). Taking over the Reins: The Needs of Individuals Who Purchase Small Established Enterprises. The International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, 11(1), 57–67. https://doi.org/10.5367/000000010790772485
Pollard, D. & Svarcova, J. (2009). Promoting knowledge transfer to Czech SMEs: The role of human resource development in increasing absorptive capacity. International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, 8(4), 499 – 515.
Psychogios, A., Szamosi, L. T., Prouska, R. & Brewster, C. (2016). A three-fold framework for understanding HRM practices in South-Eastern European SMEs. Employee Relations, 38(3), 310-331.
Richbell, S., Szerb, L. & Vitai, Zs. (2010). HRM in the Hungarian SME sector. Employee Relations, 32(3), 262-280.
Rouditser, D. & McKeown, T. (2015). The rhetoric & realities of HRM evolution in SME growth. In Small Enterprise Association of Australia and New Zealand 28th Annual SEAANZ Conference Proceedings, Melbourne.
Sadler-Smith, E., Spicer, D. P. & Chaston, I. (2001). Learning Orientations and Growth in Smaller Firms. Long Range Planning, 34(2), 139-158.
Saldaña, J. (2013). The Coding Manual for Qualitative Researchers. London: Sage.
Saru, E. (2007). Organisational Learning and HRD: How Appropriate Are They for Small Firms? Journal of European Industrial Training, 31(1), 36–51.
Saunders, M. N.K., Gray, D. E. & Goregaokar, H. (2014) SME innovation and learning: the role of networks and crisis events. European Journal of Training and Development, 38(1/2), 1 36-149. h ttps://doi.org/10.1108/EJTD-07-2013-0073
Short, H. J. & Gray, D. E. (2018). HRD in SMEs: A Research Agenda Whose Time Has Come. Human Resource Development Quarterly, 29(1), 7–13. https://doi.org/10.1002/hrdq.21305
Silverman, D. (2008). Doing Qualitative Research: A Practical Handbook. London: SAGE.
Smallbone, D., Supri, S. & Baldock, R. (2000). The implications of new technology for the skill and training needs of small- and medium-sized printing firms. Education and Training, 42(4/5), 299–307.
Tam, S. & Grey, D. (2016). The practice of employee learning in SME workplaces: A micro view from the life-cycle perspective. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 23(3), 671-690. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSBED-07-2015-0099
Van Gils, A. & Zwart, P. (2004). Knowledge acquisition and learning in Dutch and Belgian SMEs: The role of strategic alliances. European Management Journal, 22(6), 685-692.
Warwick, D. (1984). Interviews and Interviewing. London: Education for Industrial Society.
Westhead, P. & Storey, D. J. (1996). Management training and small firm performance: Why is the link so weak? International Small Business Journal, 14(4), 13–24.
Whapshott, R. & Mallett, O. (2016). Managing Human Resources in Small and Medium-sized Entreprises. New York: Routledge Masters in Entrepreneurship.
Zientara, P. (2009). Employment of older workers in Polish SMEs: employer attitudes and perceptions, employee motivations and expectations. Human Resource Development International, 12(2), 135–153.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Authors assign copyright to Vezetéstudomány / Budapest Management Review. Authors are responsible for permission to reproduce copyright material from other sources.
