The implementation of HRM systems in family businesses: a job for the family CEO

Abstract

The importance of Human Resource Management (HRM) practices is widely recognized in general management literature, yet, still largely under-researched in the family business domain. This paper contributes to the existing literature gap by examining the implementation of HRM practices within the group of family businesses and scrutinizing the role of the initiator, namely the company’s CEO. Based on a sample of approximately 532 small to medium-sized family businesses, the results show that family businesses with a family CEO are more likely to implement HRM practices than those having a nonfamily CEO. Further, based on Upper Echelon theory, we signify how family CEO’s characteristics, such as tenure, educational background, generation and decision making autonomy, affect the family CEO’s ability to implement HRM practices.