Exploring superstitious beliefs and practices on human resource management: evidence from Thai small firms

Purpose To explore superstitions and their effects on human resource management (HRM) in small firms based on employer, employee, and scholar perspectives. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative multiple case study was employed using photo-elicitation interviews in 22 small firms in Thailand. The total number of participants was 69, comprising 34 owners, 33 employees and 2 scholars. Also, non-participant observation was employed as supplementation. Findings The findings related to evidence-based practices revealed that the owners and their employees had seven key superstitions, which were ranked from highest to lowest as: (1) sacred objects, (2) worship, (3) lucky numbers/days/names/colours, (4) astrology/horoscope, (5) fortune tellers, (6) feng shui and (7) physiognomy. They believed that superstitions had several positive effects on small firm performance, but also mentioned some negatives. Superstitions around HRM practices, namely staffing, development, and employee retention, emerged as dominant themes. A “sixth sense model of superstitions about HRM” was proposed for developing small firm performance. Practical implications The study sheds some light on superstitions, which may hopefully assist owners and practitioners with formulating more suitable HRM practices. Social implications The research assists small firms, which are considered a labour-intensive sector, with understanding and implementing HRM practices effectively based on superstitious beliefs, thereby fostering sustainable firms, and helping to meet Sustainable Development Goal 8: Decent work and economic growth. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature by highlighting superstitions and their effects on HRM and small-firm performance.