Human resource management practices in female and male-led businesses

This paper investigates the extent to which HRM differs between femaleand male-led businesses. A Control-Commitment Continuum consisting of several HRM dimensions is proposed. To test to what extent HRM systems and ‘specific’ practices in femaleand male-led businesses differ with respect to commitment-orientation, use is made of a panel of approximately 2,000 Dutch entrepreneurs. Contrary to what is generally believed, we find that HRM in female-led firms is more control-oriented than in male-led firms. INTRODUCTION Research in the field of human resource management (HRM) has demonstrated that the shaping of HRM practices depends upon factors, such as the sector in which activities are undertaken (Mowday, 1998; Ram, 1999; Curran et al., 1993), business strategy (Schuler and Jackson, 1987; Lengnick-Hall and Lengnick-Hall, 1988; Youndt et al., 1996) and firm size (De Kok and Uhlaner, 2001; Ram, 1999). Also, the gender of the entrepreneur may play a role in the structuring of HRM practices (Verheul et al., 2002). The management literature generally provides inconclusive evidence regarding the question whether women and men are different managers or leaders. In the scientific management literature (Gilligan, 1982; Ely, 1994; Grant, 1988) as well as in the popular management literature (Helgesen, 1990; Rosener, 1990, 1995; Loden, 1985) it is argued that women and men adopt different management styles. Others claim that, when controlling for the context within which women and men run their business, the ways in which they behave are fairly similar (Dobbins and Platz, 1986). Most research investigating the influence of gender on management styles focuses on large businesses. The present study explores gender effects in HRM in small businesses. We argue that gender can have both a direct and an indirect effect on HRM. These effects are presented in Figure 1. In addition to gender, other factors can influence the shaping of HRM practices, including firm size, sector, goals and strategy and firm age. In Figure 1 these factors are referred to as the ‘business profile’. We take these factors into account in the present study, i.e., the ‘business profile’ is controlled for, because gender can be expected to influence the factors making up the business profile (Verheul and Thurik, 2001). Following Boselie (2002), and making use of the work of Beer et al. (1984), Walton (1985) and Arthur (1992; 1994), in the present study a distinction is made between those HRM practices that focus upon enhancing employee commitment and those practices that increase control of the ownermanager over employees and the production process. These two aspects of HRM practices are considered the extremes on a continuum, where HRM practices tend to be either more commitmentor more control-oriented. The research question in this study is whether HRM practices in female and male-led businesses differ on the Control-Commitment Continuum. Hypotheses are formulated on the influence of gender on both the HRM system and a range of HRM dimensions. These hypotheses are tested using SME Policy Panel data of EIM Business and Policy Research in Zoetermeer in the Netherlands. Every four months approximately 2,000 Dutch entrepreneurs participate in this SME Policy Panel which is used for both cross-sectional and longitudinal research.