RT Journal Article
T1 In prosperity and adversity? The value of high-performance work practices for SMEs under conditions of environmental hostility and social embeddedness
A1 Martínez del Río, Javier
A1 Pérez-Luño, Ana
A1 Maria Bojica, Ana
K1 SMEs
K1 Social capital
K1 Hostility
K1 High-performance work practices
AB Purpose – Taking a resource-based view, the authors analyse the effect of high-performance work practices (HPWPs) on the performance of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) under conditions of environmental hostility, and consider how this relationship is influenced by managers’ embeddedness in social networks. Theauthors argue that high perceived levels of environmental hostility strengthen the strategic value of HPWPs in SMEs, whereas high levels of manager embeddedness in social networks weaken this contingent relationship.Design/methodology/approach – These hypotheses were tested in a sample of 249 SMEs, from two Spanish industries related to food production, using linear regression with two- and three-way interaction effects.Findings – The study results show that the implementation of HPWPs benefits SMEs’ performance in hostile environments. However, the dark side of managers’ social capital could undermine any such benefit, especially if there is a high degree of network closure. In hostile contexts, such closure appears to limit managers’ willingness to depart from the common practice of reducing investment in human resources.Practical implications – Contrary to predominant beliefs that managers facing economic adversity should reduce costs by cutting investment in personnel development, this study indicates that supporting HPWPs enhances a firm’s objective financial performance.Originality/value – This study advances our understanding of the specific conditions under which HPWPs sustainSME performance. It also introduces the dark side of managers’ social capital into considerations
PB Emerald
YR 2023
FD 2023
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10433/19564
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10433/19564
LA en
NO International Journal of Manpower, Vol. 44 No. 4, pp. 618-634. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJM-12-2021-0707
NO Proyectos de investigaciónUPO- 1258353: PERSONALIDAD DEL BODEGUERO, INNOVACIÓN Y ARTICULACIÓN LOCAL-COMARCAL COMO FACTORES CLAVE DE ÉXITO EN ACTIVIDADES DE ENOTURISMO: UN ESTUDIO MULTIDISCIPLINARUAL2020-SEJ-D1872:  ESTRATEGIAS PARA LA SOSTENIBILIDAD AMBIENTAL: UN ENFOQUE MULTISECTORIALFECYT -- INNOVACION EN STARTUPS: ANALISIS CONTINGENTE DE LA CREATIVIDAD ...FECYT -- COMPORTAMIENTO SOSTENIBLE EN LAS NUEVAS EMPRESAS: UNA PERSPECTI...FECYT -- TRANSICION HACIA LA SOSTENIBILIDAD MEDIOAMBIENTAL: EMPRESAS, CO...FEDER Andalucía 2014-2020P20_00856: CREATIVIDAD EMPRENDEDORA COMO RECURSO CLAVE PARA LA INNOVACIÓN Y EL BIENESTAR ECONÓMICO Y PSICOSOCIAL EN TIEMPOS DE CRISIS: UN ANÁLISIS DE GÉNERO
NO Departamento de Organización de Empresas y Marketing
DS RIO
RD May 23, 2026