Downsizing and the changing role of HR

This paper examines the changing role of HR in the specific context of downsizing. It highlights the key dilemmas facing HR professionals - on the one hand, the contribution of HRM to the achievement of business results has come under increasing scrutiny and, on the other hand, most of the challenges of downsizing are people-related issues that require sophisticated HR interventions. The paper reports the key findings of a pilot study conducted in sixty organizations in the UK that downsized in the last three years. The key conclusion of the study is that the role of HR has become wide ranging, covering the strategic as well as implementation aspects. The clear message from the study suggests that, unless there is alignment between the two aspects, the envisaged benefits of downsizing are unlikely take place. Key challenges facing HR professionals are managing middle managers, managing careers and managing employee expectations. There are indications to suggest that the process role of HR is likely to become more important in the medium and longer terms.     

The impact of corporate governance on state-owned and non-state-owned firms efficiency in China

The purpose of this paper is to expand the literature on the corporate governance of transition economies by analyzing the relationship between corporate governance and productive efficiency in China's publicly listed manufacturing industry firms. We use the principal component analysis and the hybrid meta-frontier DEA model, separating inputs into radial inputs that change proportionally and non-radial inputs that change non-proportionally to measure the technical efficiency and technology gap ratios of publicly listed Chinese firms in different manufacturing industries during 2010–2013. The input variables are the net value of fixed assets, staff number, and the characteristics of the corporate governance system, while the output variables are gross revenue and total profit. The empirical result shows that inefficiency due to corporate governance is the main reason for lower efficiency in most manufacturing firms. For the technology gap ratio (TGR), the metal and mineral and the machinery, equipment and instrument are the two highest efficient sectors, whereas the paper and allied products sub-industry has the lowest efficiency during 2010–2013. In addition, the ratio of state-owned firms whose inefficiency is mainly caused by corporate governance to total state-owned firms is greater than that of non-state-owned firms in each year. The TGR analysis shows that the efficiency performance of non-state-owned firms is greater than state-owned firms.     

The impact of contextual factors on the efficacy of ISO 9000 adoption

This study investigates the importance of contextual factors on the efficacy of ISO 9000 adoption. We explore the role of various contextual factors at the firm-level (i.e., technology intensity, labor productivity, and labor intensity) and industry-level (i.e., industry efficiency level, industry competitiveness, industry sales growth, and industry ISO 9000 adoption level) that potentially impact the efficacy of ISO 9000 adoption. We carry out a hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) analysis based on objective financial data from 438 U.S. manufacturing firms. The results show that firms with low technology intensity, low labor productivity and high labor intensity reap more benefit from ISO 9000 adoption. Firms in industries with low efficiency levels, high competition, high sales growth and low ISO 9000 adoption levels also obtain more benefit from the adoption. Our research provides supporting evidence for the context-dependent proposition of ISO 9000 adoption. Given the significant costs and resources involved, it is crucial for operations managers to assess to what extent ISO 9000 might benefit their performance before embarking on the implementation process.     

Managing venture team relationships in corporate incubators: a case study of network dynamics and political rivalry in a high-tech incubator

This article addresses venture team relationships in an advanced high tech incubator through an analysis of the personal relationships of venture team members. During the study period of almost 2 years, the ventures were projected to grow and commercialise but, overall, they failed. Quantitative data collected in two rounds showed that commercial relationships remained weak while political relationships intensified. Qualitative follow-up interviews suggest that the political rivalry and low level of knowledge sharing between the ventures were further exacerbated by the individualistic-competitive structure of the incubator and weak management in some respects.     

我国城市居民国内旅游需求影响因素分析

从生活水平、人口规模、文化水平、交通状况的角度选取具有代表性的指标,构建评价指标体系并利用因子分析方法提取了影响城市居民国内旅游需求的主因子.在此基础上,利用灰色关联分析方法分析了影响主因子与城市居民国内旅游需求的关联程度,确定了影响旅游需求的最主要的因素.     

An integrated model of the effects of service evaluation,corporate image,and switching barriers on customer loyalty

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between service evaluation, corporate image, switching barriers, and customers’ intentional loyalty. The proposed model was tested and valuated in the mobile services context. A field survey was conducted using a structured questionnaire about the investigated concepts. To test the proposed hypotheses, a model was constructed and estimated using the method of partial least squares. Findings indicate that service evaluation constructs have both direct and indirect effects, through customer satisfaction and corporate image, on customers’ intentional loyalty. The outcomes suggest that marketers, in their effort to develop more customer-oriented marketing plans, should consider both the pool-in factors, reflecting the value of the provided services, customer satisfaction, and corporate image, and the interactions among them, as well as the push-back factors, as they all impact on customers’ behavioral intentions. The research was limited to one service setting and the proposed model should be cross-validated in other service settings before the relationships among its components are fully clarified. Also, the use of cross-section design reduces inference ability regarding temporal changes in research constructs. This article contributes in adding to the body of the existing knowledge by considering both corporate image and switching barriers, along with service evaluation constructs, as antecedents of consumer’s intentions determination, resulting in a model that has not been investigated thus far.     

Independent venture capital, corporate venture capital, and the internationalisation intensity of technology-based portfolio firms

Firms that internationalise early in their lives share characteristics with those that receive venture capital. The relationship between receipt of venture capital and the international intensity of 1348 young technology firms is examined, including whether the source of capital, from independent venture capital firms, corporations or private sources, has an impact. The absence of venture capital is shown to be positively associated with increased internationalisation. While previous literature suggests differences in the value added of different sources of venture capital, the results indicate no such differences in their impact on international intensity.     

Financial constraints and corporate investments during the current financial and economic crisis: The credit crunch and investment decisions of Slovenian firms

We investigate the effect of financial constraints on the investment decisions of Slovenian firms during the current financial and economic crisis. By estimating the error-correction model and the Euler-equation specification, we found that corporate investments were significantly affected by financial constraints during the crisis. The effect of financial constraints intensified in 2009 and alleviated slightly in 2010, although still being significantly more intense than before the crisis hit the economy. By estimating a switching regression model with unknown sample separation that enabled us to address the problem of judgemental sample separation, we were also able to estimate the error-correction model separately for financially constrained and financially unconstrained firms. The results indicate that financial constraints have a significant effect on both financially constrained and financially unconstrained firms, although corporate investments were more severely affected in financially constrained firms.     

International managers and mobile families: the professional and personal dynamics of trans-national career pathing and job mobility in the 1990s

This paper reviews the literature on transnational career pathing and job mobility. Alongside a detailed, critical review of the literature, a systematic model of international job mobility is presented. The directions for future research are then examined.