Abstract
HR in Motion: People and Practices in SMEs, Entrepreneurial, and Growing Firms
Academy of Management Annual Meeting Proceedings, Vol.2026(1)
07/2026
DOI: 10.5465/AMPROC.2026.12774symposium
Abstract
This symposium examines how human resource practices and human capital dynamics shape coordination, employee experiences, and growth in entrepreneurial and small-to-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Although research increasingly recognizes the importance of people management in entrepreneurial contexts, much of this work continues to privilege founders and formal HR systems, offering limited insight into how HR practices emerge and function in settings characterized by ambiguity, limited structure, and evolving roles. Bringing together four papers that span employee, leader, and organizational perspectives, this symposium advances a more dynamic view of HR and human capital as socially embedded processes. The papers explore how employee voice contributes to HR formalization, how HR leaders exercise influence without formal authority, how hiring and staffing decisions shape coordination and satisfaction, and how employees interpret and respond to people-management practices in resource-constrained environments. Collectively, these studies highlight the consequences of HR practices for retention, satisfaction, and organizational sustainability, while integrating insights from strategic HRM, entrepreneurship, and organizational behavior. The symposium offers a cohesive framework for understanding people management in entrepreneurial and growing firms and identifies promising directions for future research at the intersection of HR practices and human capital.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- HR in Motion: People and Practices in SMEs, Entrepreneurial, and Growing Firms
- Creators
- Madison Lee Schnacker - University of Nebraska–LincolnJake Messersmith - University of Nebraska–LincolnJeffrey S. Hornsby - University of Missouri–Kansas CitySimon (Seongbin) Yoon - University of California, IrvineTheresa M. Welbourne - University of AlabamaMiranda J. Welbourne EleazarJoshua Victor White - Samford UniversityShanon Yang - Syracuse UniversityJoel B. Carnevale - Florida International UniversityJames Bort - DePaul UniversityJohan Wiklund - Syracuse University
- Resource Type
- Abstract
- Publication Details
- Academy of Management Annual Meeting Proceedings, Vol.2026(1)
- DOI
- 10.5465/AMPROC.2026.12774symposium
- eISSN
- 2151-6561
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 07/2026
- Academic Unit
- Management and Entrepreneurship ; Center for Social Science Innovation; Law Faculty
- Record Identifier
- 9985213680302771
Metrics
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