The effect of business owners’ personal characteristics on enterprises’ human resource management strategies – a multigroup comparison model based on micro, small and medium-sized private enterprises

Purpose It has been proven that the characteristics of top management in an organization have an impact on the organization’s employee management strategies. In micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, the business owner’s influence is constructive. However, there has been little discussion about the influence of business owners’ personal characteristics on enterprises’ human resource management (HRM) strategies. Design/methodology/approach In this study, two complementary experimental designs – quantitative research and qualitative research – were adopted to verify the theoretical framework. Findings The results show that business owners with masculine characteristics tend to adopt the strategies of internal development and external acquisition, while those with feminine characteristics tend to adopt the strategies of internal development. Significant differences were found between the female business owner group and the male business owner group in terms of the relationship paths of gender role orientation, leadership style and gender role orientation and HRM strategies. Originality/value Firstly, this is the first time to discuss human resource management strategies from the perspective of gender roles. Secondly, the data of this research is collected from entrepreneurs, which is another advantage of this research. Finally, this research has obtained more valuable research findings. This study found that feminine bosses tend to adopt internally developed human resource strategies, while masculine bosses value internally developed human resource management strategies and also tend to adopt external acquisition strategies. Studies have shown that companies that adopt defensive strategies rely more on internally developed human resource management strategies, while those with exploratory strategies are more inclined to externally acquired human resource management strategies. So, does the boss’s gender role orientation match the organizational strategy, that is, feminine bosses adopt defensive strategies, while masculine bosses adopt defensive and exploratory organizational strategies? This point provides new research ideas for the development of private enterprises.