Organizational and environmental factors related to HRM practices in Hong Kong: a cross-cultural expanded replication

Data were collected from 151 Hong Kong organizations to determine the relationship between culture, firm size, level of unionization and presence of an HRM department, and human resource management (HR) practices. Culture was a relatively weak predictor of HR practices. Existence of an HRM department and level of unionization were moderate predictors while firm size and the existence of a specialized training unit within the HRM department were the strongest predictors of HR practices.     

Work‐to‐Family Spillover Effects of Workplace Ostracism: The Role of Work‐Home Segmentation Preferences

This study considers workplace ostracism as a source of stress and examines its spillover effects on the family. By integrating the work‐family interface model with boundary theory, we investigate the impact of workplace ostracism as perceived by employees on their family satisfaction by examining the mediating role of work‐to‐family conflict and the moderating role of work‐home segmentation preferences. The results from a three‐wave field survey of 233 employees in China indicate that workplace ostracism is negatively related to family satisfaction; this relationship is also mediated by work‐to‐family conflict. In addition, work‐home segmentation preferences attenuate the mediating effect of work‐to‐family conflict on the relationship between workplace ostracism and family satisfaction. The theoretical and managerial implications of these findings are discussed.     

Do established antecedents of purchase decision‐making power apply to contemporary couples?

The research reported here investigated the extent to which hedonic theory explains the nature of the effects of the established antecedents of marital roles (resource theory, sex‐role orientation, least‐interested partner hypothesis, and involvement) on relative influence and strategy usage in purchase decision making for married and nontraditional couples (cohabiting heterosexual, gay, and lesbian couples). The findings reveal that hedonic theory (the effect of partners' [dis]similarity in an antecedent on that antecedent's impact of relational power) explains the majority of cases where the impact of the antecedents on power vary across couple types. In some cases, however, hedonic theory is lacking in its explanatory power, thus indicating that couple types differ other than the extent to which partners are (dis)similar demographically or socioeconomically. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Pro forma accounting disclosures: The effect of reconciliations and financial reporting knowledge on nonprofessional investors' judgments

Regulation G requires companies that report non-GAAP or “pro forma” earnings provide a reconciliation. While nonprofessional investors are a large, heterogeneous population with varying degrees of financial reporting knowledge, previous research treats them as a homogenous group. The study examines how differences in financial reporting knowledge and information viewing behavior affect the influence of reconciled pro forma earnings disclosures on nonprofessional investors' judgments. Lower-knowledge investors appear to incorporate information on differences between GAAP and pro forma earnings in their judgments as long as they view this information in the reconciliation. However, higher-knowledge investors appear to consistently incorporate information on differences between GAAP and pro forma earnings in their judgments regardless of the relative amount of time they spend viewing the reconciliation relative to other disclosures. Our results suggest that knowledge differences influence how nonprofessional investors acquire and use information on differences between GAAP and pro forma earnings.     

The Effects of Mandatory Arbitration of Employment Discrimination Claims: Perceptions of Justice and Suggestions for Change

The ability of employers to require employees to submit claims of discrimination to final and binding arbitration in lieu of exercising their statutory rights represents a significant change in public policy. The methods traditionally used by enforcing agencies to investigate discrimination claims provide assistance and intervention that redress power asymmetries between employees and employers. Depriving employees of these enforcement mechanisms and requiring them to use arbitration may have adverse effects on perceptions of justice, both in procedural and distributive terms. We propose that mutuality, equality, and remediality are issues that must be addressed in situations of mandatory arbitration. We also suggest that mandatory arbitration may have other effects including expanding the scope of issues well beyond discrimination claims.     

The importance of understanding the shape of diverse ethnic female consumers for developing jeans sizing systems

This study has been conducted to investigate the fit issues related to the current apparel pants and jeans sizing system for diverse consumers, identifying body shape differences among ethnic groups. A total of 1335 women in a certain size range (Misses figure type sizes 2–20) were selected in the study. A Misses figure type size category is commonly used for adult women of average proportion and height. First, the body dimension differences among ethnic groups were examined with a single factor analysis of variance. Second, the fit of pants and jeans for the diverse consumers within the same size category was examined with the current standard sizing system, ASTM D5585 for adult female Misses figure type sizes 2–20. Three cases were programmed within a database: When each consumer selects a size for a pair of jeans based on (1) waist size; (2) hip size; and (3) waist height (usually pants length). And last, the results were analysed with fit comparison plots. Current jean consumers are racially diversified in the US and globally as well. This study revealed that ethnic groups had different fit problems and significant body shape differences. Even within the same figure type size category, a variety of body dimensions existed in each ethnic group. According to the fit problem assessment in this study, consumers within the same body figure type size category could not find the right fit of the pants and jeans within the current sizing system. Half of the female consumers could not find a garment to fit based on waist height (pants length) because the current sizing systems overlooked the effect of diverse consumers. This study will be useful for standardizing organizations to modify current sizing systems for diverse ethnic consumer groups as a demographic factor so that apparel companies could provide better quality of fit for their consumers in the global and local market.     

On the value of information in the presence of moral hazard

This paper shows that the marginal value of a “small amount of non-output information” is generally non-positive in the context of the standard principal-agent model involving moral hazard, which suggests a non-concavity in the value of information. However, when both the principal and the agent are risk neutral, even a small amount of non-output information may exhibit a positive incremental value in presence of a liability constraint.      

Nepal's civil war and the changing sources of income: The role of sectoral shifts and remittances in mitigation and recovery

Given the increased worldwide unrest and a large number of displaced individuals, understanding the economic impacts of civil war has been the subject of growing attention by academics and policymakers. The 10‐year civil war in Nepal from 1996 to 2006 provides an opportunity to assess the impact of civil unrest on income sources and remittance patterns. In this study, we examine the changes in household income generating processes over the period of the Nepali civilwar. Using survey data from the Nepal Living Standards Survey (NLSS) in 1995/1996 and 2010/2011, we observe household income and remittance patterns before and after the civil war. Specifically, we employ a difference‐in‐difference estimator that focuses on the heterogeneity in civil unrest within Nepal to examine how the civil war impacted the sources of household income. Within the context of a slower growth rate of income after the revolution for those in the hardest hit districts, we find that there was also a change in the composition of income sources. In particular, our results suggest that there was a shift from a reliance on wages in the nonagricultural sector to wages in the agricultural sector; that there was a shift from external remittances to internal remittances; and finally that home production—the market value of items produced and consumed within the household—may be taking the place of income in regions hit by unrest. “People living in zones of war are maimed, killed, and see their property destroyed. They may be displaced or prevented from attending school or earning a living. To the extent that these costs are borne unequally across groups, the conflict could intensify economic inequality as well as poverty. The destruction (and deferred accumulation) of both human and physical capital also hinder macroeconomic performance, combining with any effects of war on institutions and technology to impact national income growth. Understanding the economic legacies of conflict is important to the design of post‐conflict recovery” (Blattman & Miguel, 2010).