Recruitment and Selection Practices in Small and Medium Enterprises in South India: Formalisation Patterns, Institutional Moderators, and Employee Outcome Implications

Objective: This study aims at investigating the recruitment and selection practices of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in South India, the formal and systematic nature of the practices and the impact of the approach on the quality of the people recruited and retained.It focuses on Tamil Nadu and its neighbouring states Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Keralaa region with significant SME density but substantial variation in industrial structure, labour market conditions, and institutional development. Design/Methodology/Approach: The study adopts a sequential explanatory mixed-methods design. In the first phase, a structured survey will be administered to approximately 420 SMEs across the five states, covering five recruitment and selection (R&S) practice domains: job analysis formalisation, sourcing channel diversity, selection method rigour, merit-based versus network-based hiring, and employer brand management. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) will test hypothesised relationships between R&S practices and employee outcome measures. In the second phase, semi-structured interviews with 25–30 owner-managers and HR practitioners will contextualise and explain the statistical findings.