Advancing HRM for entrepreneurs, nascent markets and bottom of the pyramid contexts: A call for new perspectives

I'm pleased to introduce myself as the new Associate Editor of HRMJ covering scholarly work that deals with people management related issues in entrepreneurship and small business. As an entrepreneurship researcher for over 25 years, I bring my excitement for this new role along with experience in Europe, North America, Latin America and Africa. While much of my own work has focussed on nascent entrepreneurship and social entrepreneurship (Davidsson & Honig, 2003; Nafari et al., 2024), I have long been interested in the organizational elements that lead to the success or failure of entrepreneurs, many of which involve HRM issues (e.g., Drori & Honig, 2013; Honig & Hopp, 2019; Martin & Honig, 2019; Ratinho et al., 2020). There is little debate regarding the importance of entrepreneurship, and its contribution in creating new industries, innovation and economic development (Drucker & Maciariello, 2014; Van Praag & Versloot, 2007). We see entrepreneurship regularly referenced and celebrated in the political and social domain (Figueroa-Armijos & Johnson, 2016). Globally, efforts to educate, support, and expose individuals to an entrepreneurial career are ubiquitous (Maritz et al., 2016). However, the success of entrepreneurs, particularly in nascent markets, is heavily reliant on effective human resource management and people management skills and strategies. By aligning these practices with the unique challenges of small businesses, entrepreneurs can build resilient teams, fostering innovation, and enhancing long-term sustainability. Entrepreneurship is a rather large interdisciplinary field, and there are various definitions that researchers use while examining entrepreneurship, all subject to debate. This highlights the importance for scholars to explicitly indicate the framework and definition they are operating under. My own preference is ‘the creation of new organizations’ (Aldrich & Ruef, 2006) which have the advantage of incorporating social entrepreneurship as well as for-profit variants, however, alternative definitions can also be useful, when carefully theorized, supported, and properly operationalized. Since the very start of management scholarship, human resource management (HRM) has been identified as critical to virtually every firm– perhaps representing the most important element leading to the eventual success or failure of every organization. Defining a company culture, managing its human capital, developing employee talent, motivating employees, promoting scalability and growth, and providing an important dynamic capability that enhances a competitive position are all critical factors separating the successful from the unsuccessful organization, both small and large (Roundy & Burke-Smalley, 2022). Notably and surprisingly to date, little scholarship has focussed on the nexus of human resource management and entrepreneurship (Van Lancker et al., 2022). This is a significant research gap we hope to address with this new associate editorship in the HRMJ. As with entrepreneurship, there are various definitions that cover HRM (Peccei & Van De Voorde, 2019). It can be defined as “a strategic, integrated, and coherent approach to the employment, development and well-being of the people working in organizations (Armstrong & Taylor, 2023, p. 6). Studies vary, from those focussing on strategic HRM, to those focussing on training or HR practices. As well, there is a vibrant strain of research focussing on the macro level factors that impact HR practices in the national context (e.g., Faulkner et al., 2002) that may be complementary to the work focussing on entrepreneurial ecosystems (Wurth et al., 2022). With this initiative we anticipate focussing on important HRM research that fosters entrepreneurship and small business. For example, research examining the need for specialized HR practices in unique startup environments, or for particular applications. Knowledge workers, including AI, would be an obvious challenge, but developing organizational HR expertise for any kind of unique human capital, such as the GIG economy, would certainly be relevant (Subramony et al., 2024). An important area of research largely overlooked by both HRM, and entrepreneurship scholars is ‘bottom of the pyramid’ (BoP) research. In many countries, the informal sector—the economic area that skirts formal taxation policies and is frequently unmonitored and largely ignored—represents significant economic activity, sometimes accounting for the majority of enterprise (Omri, 2020). Effective HR practices can empower workers in BoP environments. What are the ethical and inclusive practices that best address social and economic inequalities? Despite the significance of BoP in the global economy, we know little regarding how HRM practices align with dynamic resource constrained nascent markets. How do firms develop their own human capital in environments lacking substantial institutional support, or where educational systems often lag technological developments? What sort of internal practices do informal firms establish in order to maintain and grow their labour force? This suggests important avenues of research in understanding the implications for HRM and entrepreneurship when they are relatively ad hoc and unregulated (Musara & Nieuwenhuizen, 2020). In particular, newly emergent small businesses that enter these markets warrant investigation. Nascent markets are another important entrepreneurial arena for HRM activities. For example, the platform economies of UBER and AIRBNB have established themselves globally, in very diverse environments, each requiring considerable local expertise that varies considerably depending on the context. How do HRM activities evolve in conjunction with these new markets and organizations—and how much do they vary between environments? We hope to attract work that explains how HRM is a catalyst for entrepreneurship. We expect that effective HRM practices support SMEs and entrepreneurial ventures, by developing leadership, talent, and effective organizational culture (Garavan et al., 2016; Krishnan & Scullion, 2017). We know less about the particular contextual HRM practices that support these important organizational characteristics, and how best to develop them in entrepreneurial and SME firms. We also need to learn their impact given environmental constraints and the need to develop sustainable models. We encourage empirical research that examines case studies exploring innovative HR practices in these many contexts. Another of our goals is to attract high quality work that addresses interdisciplinary research regarding HRM in nascent markets, BoP, and SME environments, while considering the impact of environmental sustainability, community development, and climate change. Effective research is likely to straddle across diverse fields of study, such as HRM with entrepreneurship, creativity, technology, development studies, and other relevant domains (Colakoglu et al., 2019; Seeck & Diehl, 2017; Shipton et al., 2006). Emerging research methodologies, such as mixed methods approaches or longitudinal research employing digital data analytics, allow for deeper exploration of the dynamic interactions between entrepreneurs and their teams over time. These approaches help capture the evolving nature of small businesses, particularly in challenging environments like nascent markets. Methods should also be carefully chosen and contextualized by considering local socio-economic conditions and cultural nuances, with attention to institutional and legal frameworks. Findings informing both theory and practice will emerge from the integration of innovative methods, yielding insights for both practice and policy. As an AE, my personal goal will be to expand the scope of HRMJ to include more diverse and more global perspectives on HRM. I am particularly excited about sharing research that extends our knowledge to emergent fields, movements, technologies and markets, inclusive of marginalized environments that are often overlooked. Research of this kind may offer important insights for both policy and practice, while also expanding our theoretical models to be more generalizable in a wider variety of contexts. In conclusion, I'm pleased to assist HRMJ as it seeks to attract research that drives positive social and economic change, not only for HRM practices in the global north, as practiced by leading Fortune 500 firms, but also by nascent and entrepreneurial firms, SMEs, and even those in BoP contexts. I wish to encourage a diverse array of scholars to submit their work and contribute to the growing body of knowledge in these areas. My enthusiasm for attracting bridging interdisciplinary research as a new Associate Editor is considerable and is anchored in a long-standing career based on interdisciplinary research. It is with much appreciation that I acknowledge the support of the editors of HRMJ by encouraging this important initiative. I look forward to sharing exciting and impactful research as this research trajectory grows. Please feel free to contact me regarding your new and existing research ideas.

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