The Thai construction industry is comprised mainly of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) with a registered capital of not more than 200 million baht and a workforce of up to 200 employees. For these SMEs, competition is intense. There is a high staff turnover, and additionally, it is costly to train new employees and to get them "up to speed" with the same level of ability as those who have resigned. In this context, this study seeks to examine the relationship between the current Human Resource Management (HRM) practices and the macro-environmental factors in this sector of the Thai construction business in order to assess their impact upon HRM outcomes. Four propositions are presented on the relationship between HRM practices, macro-environmental factors, and the HRM outcomes. This study comprised two major phases. Prior to conducting in-depth interviews with seventy two individuals from twenty four construction firms, five case studies were conducted involving interviews with five senior managers from five major construction businesses in Thailand to explore specific variables relative to HRM practices and HRM outcomes. A qualitative methodology was employed through semi-structured interviews questions. The seventy-two target respondents in the second phase of the research focused on managers and non-managers from fourteen small-sized and ten medium-sized enterprises. / The results of interviews show that rewards create the greatest job satisfaction for employees within SMEs while the organizational characteristics (internal factor) were ranked as secondary factors. The study showed that environmental factors (external factor) influenced managers of medium-sized enterprises because they were seen as beneficial to employees and promoted organizational growth while the non-managers of SMEs stated that these factors were less important and did not influence their decision to remain with a particular SME. This is because the non-managers of SMEs considered that organisational characteristics (internal factor) impacted on firm performance and competency to a greater degree than the environmental factors (external factor). In addition, new graduates entering the construction industry preferred medium-sized companies which were seen as efficient, rather than entering family-owned businesses. New graduates also sought to maximise salary and other allowances. Once graduates gained three or more years of working experience they often joined family owned businesses. A lack of awareness of these influential variables can lead to inefficient HRM practices and negative HRM outcomes in the management of SMEs within the Thai construction industry. / Thesis (DBA(DoctorateofBusinessAdministration))--University of South Australia, 2007.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/267121 |
| Creators | Tuntimas, Anukool. |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | copyright under review |
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