HRM practices and effectiveness: a comparison of US Hispanic and non-Hispanic family firms

Purpose Effective use of human resources is important for the profitability and governance of family firms. In a study of the human resource management (HRM) practices of US Hispanic family firms, the purpose of this paper is to discuss the implications of agency and stewardship governance. Design/methodology/approach To better understand HRM practices in US Hispanic family firms, the authors present findings from 169 US firms to hypothesize the extent of HRM development in Hispanic family firms (n=70) vs non-Hispanic family firms (n=99). Findings Results indicated that HRM practices in Hispanic family firms are less structured than those of non-Hispanic family firms; however, when Hispanic family firms effectively use HRM practices, they will have greater financial success. Originality/value Therefore, the results suggest that Hispanic family firm leaders display relatively low agency governance and high stewardship governance.