A review of the empirical literature on ‘engagement’ within the context of entrepreneurship and small business management

Fletcher, Luke, Ram, Monder and McCarthy, Imelda (2025) A review of the empirical literature on ‘engagement’ within the context of entrepreneurship and small business management. International Journal of Human Resource Management. ISSN 0958-5192

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Abstract

Previous reviews on (work/job/employee) ‘engagement’ have neglected research within the context of entrepreneurship and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). We present a systematic narrative review of the empirical literature on ‘engagement’ within this industrial and employment context. Our aims are to a) determine the scope of research conducted, b) identify key insights, and c) uncover key gaps and problems. We searched four databases for material published between 2010 and 2023. From systematic sifting of 1155 items, 40 articles met our quality and relevance criteria. These articles derive from various disciplines, yet mainly adopt a psychological focus. However, the literature lacks methodological pluralism and cultural contextualization, and an underplaying of institutional/market factors. We find two distinct streams: i) studies focusing on employee engagement with SMEs, and ii) studies focusing on entrepreneurial engagement. There are opportunities to connect these streams in a more interdisciplinary way as well as to develop each in more meaningful ways.