HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT JOURNAL, VOL 13 NO 4, 2003 5 Labour scarcity and the survival of small rms: a resource-based view of the road haulage industry Mick Marchington and Marilyn Carroll, UMIST Peter Boxall, University of Auckland Human Resource Management Journal, Vol 13 No 4, 2003, pages 5-22 This article is concerned with the problem of labour scarcityin the road haulage industry and how it affects small ®rms. The recruitment and retention of lorry drivers is critically important for the industry because driving is no longer seen as an attractive occupation, and there are worries that there is an insuf®cient supply of new recruits to replace the experienced drivers who are leaving the industry. In order to investigate this issue, we make use of a modi®ed version of the resource-basedview (RBV) of the ®rm, focusing on the notion that a minimum set of `table stakes’ (HR practices) is necessary for the continued survival of small ®rms. Drawing on longitudinal data from seven small road haulage companies, we argue that owner-managers have developed an astute combination of path-dependent and socially complex networking abilities, embedded within an extensive understanding of both product and local labour markets. We conclude that the RBV needs extending to make greater allowance for different ownership goals and diversityin markets, and to consider the forces that promote similarity rather than difference among ®rms within an industry. Contact: Mick Marchington, Manchester School of Management, UMIST, PO Box 88, Manchester M60 1QD. Email: mick.marchington@umist.ac.uk L abour scarcity in the road haulage industry is of critical importance to the survival of small ®rms. Recruitment and retention of lorry drivers is important because the nature of their work is, if not unique, unusual in many respects (Ouellet, 1994). Driving large goods vehicles is a skilled occupation requiring a substantial, and often personal, investment in training. Lorry drivers assume a great deal of responsibility, not only in terms of needing to drive safely on public roads but also by being in charge of an expensive vehicle and load. They need customer service skills, often being the only face- to-face contact with clients who can be very demanding in terms of service quality, delivery dates and times. Moreover, drivers also enjoy a great deal of autonomy and work with little direct supervision, although the introduction of technology used for tracking and monitoring driver activity, location and performance may limit this. There is little doubt that drivers represent a critical resource for ®rms in the industry, and that the recruitment and retention of `good’ drivers is a major contributor to satisfactory, let alone superior, business performance. However, driving tends to be seen as an unattractive occupation for several reasons. Drivers work long hours, roads are increasingly congested and many jobs involve overnight stays. Some drivers, especially those undertaking European work, may be away from home for weeks at a time, typically starting work very early each morning. At the same time, the extrinsic rewards are not high and, perhaps not surprisingly, ®rms face chronic skill shortages, even though there are many more people with an LGV (Large Goods Vehicle) driving licence than there are jobs in the industry. Accordingly, road haulage operators ± the majority of whom run small, family-owned businesses ±