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This paper uses case study data to explore the potential of Human Resource Management (HRM) within small firms. It is argued that despite a considerable amount of evidence that emphasises the distinct human resource problems that small firms face because of their size, there is no reason to assume a priori that a formalised HRM approach cannot provide solutions to these — provided that it is sufficiently flexible. The article cautions against accepting the ‘informal’ approach to managing people often associated with small firms as an inevitable or unconditional ‘good’, demonstrating the complexities of small firm employment relations through case studies of four small firms that have adopted the Investors In People initiative. This initiative is shown to embody key principles of HRM thinking and to have provided viable answers to the human resource problems faced by the case companies. The article concludes with a discussion of the issues that will need to be faced if the management of human resources in small firms is to be opened up to new and innovative ideas in a manner that is genuinely constructive and beneficial.

Some evidence of a relationship between training provision and the extent of skills shortages is provided by presenting the results of a survey of small firms operating across a range of manufacturing and service industries within the Portsmouth area of south Hampshire. By empirically distinguishing between different types of training providers and measuring the severity of skills shortages between companies, it is shown that those organisations which lay emphasis on the development of human resources are less adversely affected by skills shortages than those organisations which, in contrast, lay emphasis on the exploitation of human resources.

This paper addresses the issues raised for very small businesses by the introduction in the UK of the 1995 Disability Discrimination Act (DDA). It considers the “20‐employee threshold” which exempts organisations with fewer than 20 employees from the Act’s anti‐discrimination provisions. The attitudes and practices of small employers towards people with disabilities are explored to determine whether these differ significantly between the exempt group and larger, non‐exempt, SMEs. It is suggested that lowering the threshold is unlikely to cause significant difficulty for very small firms, but that it will not, on its own, have a dramatic impact on the spread of good practice among small firms in general.

Addresses the workplace issues posed by HIV/AIDS within the hotel and catering industry. In particular, examines the theoretical risks which may be peculiar to organizations in this industrial sector. Suggests that the “objective” risk assessment provided by “experts” is not necessarily accepted nor understood by all employees. Develops a model of risk assessment which takes account of perceived risk, reflecting subjective and organizational influences to provide an adequate understanding of likely employee responses. Uses the model to interpret data from a small survey of hotel and catering management trainees and uses the results to point to areas of further research and to matters which merit further discussion by hotel and catering employers.

Despite its resonances, the sociological concept of agency – the ability to ‘make a difference’ – has not been widely applied to entrepreneurialism. This chapter makes a case for a relational conception of agency. It extends our thinking about entrepreneurialism into areas that, despite their empirical importance, have received little systematic theoretical attention, specifically, the role of emotions, corporeality and social interactions. The relational theory of entrepreneurial agency allows us to address, in new ways, one of entrepreneurship's enduring questions: why do some individuals rather than others become entrepreneurs? Theoretically, by placing emotion at the heart of agency we propose a theory that can recognise individuality without recourse to individualism. We illustrate this approach through a re-analysis of structural hole theory, which is an attempt to explain (unsatisfactorily in our view) entrepreneurial behaviour by recourse to social network theory. We show how a relational concept of agency can resolve the unhelpful tension between the structural qualities of network relationships and the capacity for individual action.

The issue of AIDS/HIV is currently a concern of many employing organizations. Considers the contextual factors which surround AIDS as a workplace issue in terms of legislation, state policy, and trade union and employer positions. This is followed by an analysis of current UK corporate AIDS policies. Identifies two approaches to policy formulation: definsive and humanistic. The former regards AIDS/HIV largely in instrumental terms whereas the latter frames the issue as one of social justice and responsibility. Considers the implications of each position and explores the prospects for future research and practice.

It seems clear that one of the challenges of change to be faced by organisations in the 1990s will be that of dealing effectively with the impact of AIDS. According to Trebilcock (1989) the vast majority (90%) of those in the developed countries who will contract the HIV virus will be in employment. At present the US Centre for Disease Control estimates that one in 250 people in the US is infected with the HIV virus and that, in 1991, AIDS‐related illness cost US industry more than $50 billion (Brown 1991). This, according to Kohl et al (1990) may mean that there may be 1.5 million Americans infected with the virus, with an expectation of well over 300,000 ‘active’ AIDS cases by 1993 (see also Ross and Middlebrook, 1990).

The purpose of this article is to develop a conceptual framework that recognises the significance of emotional and interactional factors in shaping the development and enactment of entrepreneurial opportunities.

Provides a theory development illustrated through a case study based on secondary sources.

Demonstrates how emotion and interaction ritual chains can extend the scope of entrepreneurial theorising.

Suggests how novel concepts could be deployed to add explanatory power to accounts of entrepreneurial behaviour.

Suggests new approaches to spotting potential entrepreneurial opportunities.

Emotion has received little attention from entrepreneurship researchers. This paper offers one way of filling this gap by developing a strand of microsociological theory that has not previously been applied to the explanation of entrepreneurial behaviour.

The chapters in this volume are drawn from the best contributions to the 2008 International Conference on Emotion and Organizational Life held in Fontainebleau, France. (This bi-annual conference has come to be known as the “Emonet” conference, after the listserv of members). In addition, these referee-selected conference papers were complemented by additional, invited chapters. This volume contains six chapters selected from conference contributions for their quality, interest, and appropriateness to the theme of this volume, as well as seven invited chapters. We again acknowledge in particular the assistance of the conference paper reviewers (see appendix). In the year of publication of this volume, the 2010 Emonet conference will be held in Montreal, Canada, in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Academy of Management, and will be followed by Volumes 7 and 8 of Research on Emotions in Organizations. Readers interested in learning more about the conferences or the Emonet list should check the Emonet website http://www.emotionsnet.org.

In a study of companies operating in the mechanical, technical and electronic engineering sector within the Portsmouth, Fareham and Gosport travel‐to‐work areas in South Hampshire the authors found that high training companies with an emphasis on the development of human resources were far less affected by skill shortages than low training companies which traditionally have emphasised the exploitation of human resources. Organisations which fail to offer any development possibilities may gradually lose their ability to retain and attract labour into the enterprise so that they effectively become side‐lined within the labour market. Organisations are urged to adopt a managerial vision which stresses company responsibility for training and development policies within a regenerative and community‐based framework for the enterprise.