Abstracts
Résumé
Cet article part du constat que le management des ressources humaines (MRH) constitue l’une des principales causes d’échec des start-up. Le MRH est fortement orienté par les caractéristiques personnelles de l’entrepreneur en raison d’une centralisation de son pouvoir. Si ses traits narcissiques sont étudiés dans la littérature, ceux relevant de l’empathie ont jusqu’ici été occultés alors que l’entrepreneur entretient des relations de proximité avec ses salariés.
L’objectif de cet article est de comprendre comment l’empathie de l’entrepreneur oriente la politique de MRH de sa start-up. Ainsi, il mobilise la théorie des échelons supérieurs (TES), centrée sur l’influence des caractéristiques personnelles de l’entrepreneur sur ses choix stratégiques, couplée au concept d’empathie, issue de la psychologie. S’inscrivant dans une démarche exploratoire, une étude de cas unique longitudinale a été réalisée auprès d’une start-up française en croisant les perceptions des diverses parties prenantes. La recherche permet d’établir une relation entre les phases d’évolution de la start-up – amorçage et croissance – et sa politique de MRH au travers des différentes dimensions de l’empathie de l’entrepreneur.
Mots-clés :
- Empathie,
- Entrepreneur,
- Start-up,
- MRH
Abstract
This article is based on the observation that human resources management (HRM) is one of the main causes of failure for start-up. HRM is strongly influenced by the personal characteristics of the entrepreneur, due to the centralization of his power. While his narcissistic traits have been studied in the literature, those relating to empathy have so far been overlooked, despite the fact that the entrepreneur maintains close relationships with his employees.
The aim of this article is to understand how the entrepreneur’s empathy guides his start-up’s HRM policy. It draws on the upper echelons theory (UET), which focuses on the influence of the entrepreneur’s personal characteristics on his strategic choices, coupled with the concept of empathy, derived from psychology. As part of an exploratory approach, a single longitudinal case study of a French start-up was carried out, cross-referencing the perceptions of the various stakeholders. The research establishes a relationship between the start-up’s development phases – seed and growth – and its HRM policy through the different dimensions of the entrepreneur’s empathy.
Keywords:
- Empathy,
- Entrepreneur,
- Start-up,
- HRM
Appendices
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