Expertise of Owners, Investment of Time, and Human Resource Outsourcing in Very Small Businesses

Abstract

Very small enterprises (VSEs) are firms in the product and service sectors of the economy that
are not part of a larger company and have 10 or less employees. The manner in which they
practice human resource management is analyzed. Four questions are explored including the
extent to which 17 HRM activities are performed in-house or outsourced by VSEs. Next, the
perceptions of VSE owners’ expertise in HRM are analyzed. How VSE owners obtain their
knowledge of HRM and the percentage of their time invested in HR activities and decision
making are also addressed.