A meta-analysis on employee perceptions of human resource strength: Examining the mediating versus moderating hypotheses

Human resource (HR) strength research has substantially informed an understanding of the relationship between HR practices and employee-level outcomes. However, a key unresolved issue is whether employee perceptions of HR strength act as a mediator or a moderator in the relationship between HR practices and these outcomes. A meta-analysis of 42 studies (comprising 65 samples and 29,444 unique participants) was conducted to address this issue. Results support the mediating hypothesis for all five employee outcomes: employee reactions, proactive behavior, burnout, performance, and perceived organizational effectiveness. Conversely, the moderating hypothesis was only supported for employee performance. In addition, we examined five study characteristics (the operationalization of perceived HR strength, research study design, industry, sampling strategy, and publication status) as moderators. Using this analysis, we test the robustness of our main results and identify sources of heterogeneity in the results across studies. The results show that the mediating hypothesis still holds under different study designs and contexts. Theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed.     

Cash flow vs. collateral‐based credit

We study factors affecting micro, small and medium‐sized enterprises (MSMEs) receiving loans and the effect of these loans on MSMEs performance. We study two types of loans – a new type based on cash flows and a traditional‐style loan based on collateral. We use unique surveys of MSMEs from Bulgaria, Georgia, Russia and Ukraine. We find that MSMEs receiving a cash flow or collateral loan in the past are more likely to receive the same type of loan (and larger sized) in the future and that cash flow loans may be the preferred form of credit. Both types of loans are related positively to most performance indicators, enabling the MSMEs for instance to be more profitable and expand production. The cash flow loans also appear to be particularly attractive credit delivery schemes for micro and small enterprises. Finally, the effects of the smallest loans are often negative, suggesting that the minimum loan size is an important policy issue.     

Area-based differences in injury risks in a small Swedish municipality – Geographic and social differences

The current study investigates the geographic and social differences in injury risks across living areas in a small semi-urban Swedish municipality. The study population consisted of all people living in the municipality during the years 1992–1996 (31,820, December 1996). Area comparisons were made based on data related to the municipality’s 15 census districts and grouped according to the geographic location and three different social characteristics (proportion of unemployed, of low educated, or of people born outside Sweden). Injury data was gathered for the period 1992–1996 from two data sources: Sweden’s National Hospital Discharge Register, and the local outpatient register. Three diagnosis groups were used: all injuries aggregated, traffic injuries and other unintentional injuries. Odds-ratios were calculated for males and females separately. There were no remarkable differences in injury risks between areas, whether compared on the basis of their geographic location or some of their socio-economic characteristics. These findings could be attributed to either a lack of sensitivity of the measures employed or the existence of a well-functioning safety promotion program in the municipality that impacts on injury risk distribution between areas. This, in turn, does not imply that members of underprivileged social groups are not in need of special support regardless of the area to which they belong.     

From Light to Inspissated Gloom

This paper tries to explain why the unit trust industry of the United Kingdom has experienced massive fluctuations in its growth rate and a low penetration of the market. After 20 years it has retained only about one million unit holders, and in total value of assets is barely 75 per cent of the size of the Halifax Building Society. It is argued here that the unit trust industry is a prisoner of movements of Stock Exchange Indices, and it is questioned whether it was wise for the industry to switch from consumer-directed advertising to indirect channels of distribution. The industry's product proliferation has probably been misdirected and counter-productive, having been mesmerized by the short-term attractions of the selling concept at the expense of the marketing concept.     

Explaining the choice of accounting standards in municipal corporations: Positive accounting theory and institutional theory as competitive or concurrent theories

Municipal corporations exist in an institutional twilight area, being both private and public, a characteristic, which presumably would be reflected in their choice of accounting standards. The literature of accounting choice does not, however, live in a twilight area, but is fragmented into two main divisions: positive accounting theory (PAT) and institutional theory (IT); only in a very few cases do the theories meet or cross-fertilize. We use both theories in this paper and derive hypotheses from them to explain accounting choices made by municipal corporations. Through testing the hypotheses on a sample of 545 Swedish municipal corporations, we indicate the empirical relevance of both PAT and IT. We conclude by suggesting an integrative approach of PAT and IT in an eclectic alternative.     

Automatic bankruptcy auctions and fire-sales

We test for fire-sale tendencies in automatic bankruptcy auctions. We find evidence consistent with fire-sale discounts when the auction leads to piecemeal liquidation, but not when the bankrupt firm is acquired as a going concern. Neither industry-wide distress nor the industry affiliation of the buyer affect prices in going-concern sales. Bids are often structured as leveraged buyouts, which relaxes liquidity constraints and reduces bidder underinvestment incentives in the presence of debt overhang. Prices in “prepack” auctions (sales agreements negotiated prior to bankruptcy filing) are on average lower than for in-auction going-concern sales, suggesting that prepacks may help preempt excessive liquidation when the auction is expected to be illiquid. Prepack targets have a greater industry-adjusted probability of refiling for bankruptcy, indicating that liquidation preemption is a risky strategy.     

Employee perceptions of management relations as influences on job satisfaction and quit intentions

In this paper we use a relational approach to investigate how employee perceptions of their relationships with three types of managers—senior, line, and human resource managers—are related to employees’ job satisfaction and intention to quit. Based on an employee survey (n = 1,533), and manager network data (n = 140) in ten organizations operating in Australia, we found that the extent of agreement between employees’ perceptions of their relations with senior and line management was positively related to these outcome variables. In addition, we found these relationships were strengthened in organizations where HR and line managers reported high-frequency communication between the two groups. Implications of our findings are briefly canvassed.