Determinants of Training and Development Practices in SMEs: A Case of Japanese Manufacturing Firms

Aruna Gamage,Yuri Sadoi

doi:10.4038/sljhrm.v2i1.5104

Abstract

Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) constitute a large proportion of the overall business population of industrially developed and developing nations. Despite the growing importance of SME research during the last decade, very little attention has been paid to the study of training and development practices in SMEs. This article sets out to redress this imbalance in current SME research. It outlines the preliminary results of a recent study that focused on determinants of training & development practices in manufacturing SMEs in Japan. The results of the analysis indicate that the attitude of owner/manager and organizational support towards training & development are the key determinants of training intensity in SMEs in Japan. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4038/sljhrm.v2i1.5104 Sri Lankan Journal of Human Resource Management Vol.2(1) 2008 pp.46-61

Highlights

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) have been playing a major role in every area of the national economy in Japan
All background variables except the age of the business, and all the organizational variables are related to training intensity
The results indicated that organizational variables, ‘organizational support for training’ and ‘attitude of the owner/ manager were highly correlated with training intensity showing those as key determinants of training & development intensity in manufacturing Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Japan

Summary

Introduction

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) have been playing a major role in every area of the national economy in Japan. In 2001 SMEs numbered 4.7 million, and accounted for 99.7% of all firms (excluding the primary sector) It employed 30 million persons corresponding to 70.2% of total employment. The exit rate has considerably exceeded the entry rate despite the slight upward swing in the entry rate, and the gap has widened further to 2.2% in terms of number of establishments and 2.6% in terms of number of enterprises. This is the largest gap on record since statistics were first compiled in 1947 (METI, 2006). Size of the business CONTROL Managed by owner GROEMPL.

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