Predictors of the inclusion of people with disabilities in small and medium-sized enterprises

BackgroundDuring the last decades, studies addressing the persistently large labor-market participation gap of people with disabilities have increasingly focused attention to the role of employers and their organizations. Relatively little attention has been paid to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).ObjectiveThe objective of this article is to deepen our understanding of predictors of the inclusion of people with disabilities in SMEs.MethodsA survey was conducted among SMEs in the Netherlands. The survey focused on three groups of predictors of employing people with disabilities: general organizational characteristics, human resource practices, and capabilities, opportunities and motivations to employ people with disabilities.ResultsThe most important positive predictors of employing people with disabilities in SMEs were size, capabilities and opportunities. HR recruitment and selection was negatively related to employing people with disabilities. Comparing small with larger enterprises we found that predictors for employing people with disabilities are not completely similar.ConclusionGiven the role of SMEs as a resource of employment, and the notion that SMEs are not simply 'small' large organizations but have their own unique characteristics which may create specific challenges and opportunities for inclusion, future research of SMEs is recommended. Concerning HR practices our findings are inconclusive. The role of general versus disability-specific HR practices, the issue of inclusive versus exclusive effects of HR practices and the effects of individual versus bundles of HR practices are interesting topics for future research.