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.