Industrial policy and employment in the UK: evidence from the pharmaceutical sector

Employment scholars have a longstanding interest in the potential for an active industrial policy to shift the UK economy to a high‐wage, high‐skill trajectory. This article addresses this topic by examining policy, performance and employment in the UK pharmaceutical sector, which has historically benefited from substantial government assistance. While weaknesses are apparent, overall the industrial policy context has supported the performance of the UK sector, underpinning a sizable number of highly skilled and paid jobs. The findings demonstrate the potential of an active industrial policy to facilitate a shift to a higher skills trajectory. Wider considerations of relevance and policy recommendations are discussed.     

The performance effects of major workforce reductions: longitudinal evidence from North America

This paper investigates the performance effects of major job cuts.1 1 Like Wayhan and Werner (2000 Wayhan, V. and Werner, S. 2000. The Impact of Workforce Reductions on Financial Performance: A Longitudinal Perspective. Journal of Management, 26: 341–63. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]), we interchangeably use the expressions ‘workforce reduction’ and ‘job cuts’ instead of the broad concept of ‘downsizing’ which is subject to multiple confusing definitions (DeWitt, 1998 DeWitt, R.L. 1998. Firm Industry and Strategy Influences on Choice of Downsizing Approach. Strategic Management Journal, 19: 59–79.  [Google Scholar]). Using data from Compustat S&P database, we examined the longitudinal impact of workforce reductions on labour productivity and operational indebtedness of 239 US and Canadian companies. Repeated measures analysis showed that firms that substantially cut jobs failed to improve their labour productivity and their operational indebtedness. Then, taken a step further, statistical analysis surprisingly revealed that firms that cut the highest proportions of their workforce had a significant deterioration of their operational indebtedness and a non-significant change of their labour productivity. These results call into question the economic legitimacy of major workforce reductions increasingly institutionalized to the detriment of the strategic approach of HRM.     

Academic-industry linkages and small firm innovation: evidence from the scientific instruments sector

This paper explores the role of academic linkages in the product development efforts of small and medium-sized manufacturing firms (SMFs). Data from a sample of 204 SMFs in New York State's scientific instruments sector suggest that university research units can play a helpful role in small firm innovation. Knowledge spillovers from the academic sector are shown to be geographically localized. A key finding is that the intensity of academic-SMF interaction varies inversely with the time-distance that separates firms from major campuses. A related finding is that innovation rates are higher among SMFs that enjoy close proximity to academic resources. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of the role of micro-geographical factors in regional knowledge diffusion.     

Fiscal decentralization and public sector efficiency: evidence from OECD countries

This paper studies the impact of fiscal decentralization on public sector efficiency (PSE). We first use a theoretical framework that illustrates the two opposing forces that shape a non-monotonic effect of fiscal decentralization on PSE. Subsequently, we carry out an empirical analysis for 21 OECD countries, between 1970 and 2000. A country-level dataset is used to measure PSE in delivering education and health services and the new indices are regressed on well-established decentralization measures. Irrespective of whether PSE concerns education or health services, an inverted U-shaped relationship has been identified between government efficiency in providing these services and fiscal decentralization. This relationship is robust across several different specifications and estimation methods.     

Individual employee choice between unions: some public sector evidence from Britain

Here the authors use sample data to identify some of the major influences on why nurses choose to be a member of one union, as opposed to other unions, in the NHS     

Electoral accountability and local government efficiency: quasi-experimental evidence from the Italian health care sector reforms

This paper evaluates the effect of two policy changes on the efficiency of Italian regional governments in the provision of health care services: first a change in the electoral system, second a process of fiscal decentralisation. The paper provides two main contributions: (1) a comprehensive analysis of the two main reforms that involved Italian regional governments and the health care sector during the 1990s, (2) the evaluation of the impact of the electoral reform in a quasi-experimental setting. Final results are in line with recent theoretical predictions that show a positive relationship between government efficiency and the electoral accountability enhanced by institutions such as electoral rules and fiscal decentralisation.     

Not every public sector is a field: evidence from the recent overhaul of the English NHS

ABSTRACT

A structural interpretation of institutionalism has become dominant in public management research. Yet, studies tend to assume an institutional-level phenomenon without specifying how an organizational field was identified or whether structural characteristics can indeed be found in the organizational population studied. This lacuna is illustrated by exploring the structural interpretation of the field construct in the case of the recent overhaul of English primary care. Findings demonstrate the need for a more robust application of institutionalism in empirical research. Possible research problems for public management and a future research agenda based on a more relational approach to fields are discussed.     

The microallocative impact of the Hungarian economic reform of 1968: Some evidence from the export sector

Summary We have investigated the allocative efficiency of the Hungarian export sector in both pre-reform and post-reform years. The results indicate that, although misallocation due to bilateral currency constraints was reduced by the reform, the overall efficiency of the export sector declined significantly. While the failure of the reform in a single, although from the Hungarian viewpoint, critical sector of the economy is not direct evidence of the failure of the entire reform, it does indicate that successful reforms may be more difficult to achieve than either western or socialist economists have anticipated.     

Understanding employee preferences for investing in employer stock: evidence from France

In this article, we broaden the focus of existing research on employee stock purchase plans by analysing employee preferences for investing in employer stock as a construct distinct from actual investment behaviour. In our analysis of original survey data in a sample of 900 employees in four French companies, we find that employee preferences are influenced by two common cognitive heuristics (representativeness and familiarity), organisational commitment, the perceived quality of corporate communications about these plans and perceived managerial commitment to employee ownership. We did not find, however, that risk aversion, turnover intentions or perceived employee involvement in decision making influenced preferences for investing in employer stock. Our findings have both theoretical and practical implications for understanding and operating these types of employee benefit plans, which are becoming more common across the globe.     

Organizational commitment and service delivery: evidence from an industrial setting in the UK

In this paper the links between organizational commitment and the delivery of service quality are explored. Using data from a survey of contact-level employees within an industrial service organization, the hypotheses that the antecedents to service quality do indeed drive the service delivery gap, that there is a relationship between organizational commitment and service delivery and that the antecedents of the service delivery gap are related to organizational commitment are tested. All three hypotheses are accepted, although the link between organizational commitment and service delivery is not very strong. However, it is found that organizational commitment is strongly tied to role ambiguity and teamwork as antecedents of the service delivery gap.     

HR strategy and competitive advantage in the service sector

While taking its cue from studies of high‐performance work systems in manufacturing, this article examines theory and research on the potential for HR advantage in the service sector, building directly on recent studies of market segmentation and HR strategy in the sector. The article uses these studies, along with strategic management theory, to put forward a new typology of market characteristics, competitive dynamics and HR strategy in services. Three broad types of competition, ranging from mass market to knowledge‐intensive services, are identified. This framework helps the article to explore the issue of whether competitive differentiation through human resources is possible only in high‐skill areas such as professional services. It argues that opportunities for HR advantage are broader; they exist where quality and/or knowledge are important in competitive strategy. However, seeing the opportunity is not the same as achieving the result. Service firms that identify and pursue these opportunities face the problems of building and maintaining barriers to imitation, and of managing the ‘politics of appropriation’.     

Partial fiscal decentralization and demand responsiveness of the local public sector: Theory and evidence from Norway

This paper provides an empirical test of a principal tenet of fiscal federalism: that spending discretion, when granted to localities, allows public-good levels to adjust to suit local demands. The test is based on a simple model of partial fiscal decentralization, under which earmarking of central transfers for particular uses is eliminated, allowing funds to be spent according to local tastes. The greater role of local demand determinants following partial decentralization is confirmed by the paper’s empirical results, which show the effects of the 1986 Norwegian reform.     

Examining public service motivation in the voluntary sector: implications for public management

Building on research about the nature of public service motivation (PSM) and its application outside the public sector, the authors provide a qualitative-based examination of PSM’s relevance to voluntary sector employees. In doing so, they explore how far their motivations extend beyond those encompassed within current conceptualizations of PSM and whether PSM research can be enriched through the adoption of qualitative methodologies. The findings suggest that PSM accounts for some, but not all, of the motives of voluntary sector employees and indicate that public sector managers involved in outsourcing public services need to be sensitive to their distinctive features.     

Understanding the adoption and institutionalization of workforce analytics: A systematic literature review and research agenda

Data analytics plays a crucial role in enhancing organizational decision-making. Various organizational disciplines have already embraced data analytics. However, human resources management is lagging in data-driven decision-making and, specifically, workforce analytics. Although an increasing number of studies explore the diffusion of workforce analytics, our understanding of why organizations decide to adopt workforce analytics and how organizations further institutionalize workforce analytics remains limited. Taking an HRM innovation and contextualized perspective, this systematic literature review aims to provide in-depth knowledge on factors driving workforce analytics adoption and institutionalization. The results, including relevant learnings from business analytics research, show the importance of competitive, institutional, heritage mechanisms, key decision-makers and actors, and HRM fit-related factors in the diffusion process. Based on the results of this review, various avenues for future research are presented. Additionally, insights from this literature review can help decision-makers allocate their scarce resources effectively and efficiently to cultivate workforce analytics as an organizational practice.     

Customer service-focused HRM systems and firm performance: evidence from the service industry in Taiwan

Abstract

This study adopts a resource-based view, attraction–selection–attrition theory and a focused approach to examine the link between service-focused human resource management (HRM) systems and firm performance. Internally, we examine employee competency as the ‘black box’ between service-focused HRM systems and firm performance. Externally, we examine the effect of the interplay of a service-focused strategy and service-focused HRM systems in predicting firm performance. We collect data from different sources (i.e. executives, human resource members, and line managers). Using a final sample included 2120 respondents from 175 firms in the service industry in Taiwan, the results show that customer service-focused employee competency transmitted 53% of the effect of customer service-focused HRM systems on firm performance. In addition, when a firm implements a less service-focused business strategy, service-focused HRM systems leads to significant improvement in firm performance. Implications for research are discussed.     

The antecedents of employee commitment to customer service: evidence from a UK

This paper provides a first attempt at conceptualizing and operationalizing the notion of commitment to customer service (CCS) as part of a broader concern to explore the determinants of key aspects of service quality and of individual-level performance in service organizations. Based on an explicitly behavioral definition of commitment to customer service, we first set out a model of the antecedents of CCS. We then test it using data from a representative sample of 717 employees of a major food-retailing organization in the UK. The results suggest that commitment to customer service is primarily a non-calculative phenomenon driven above all by affective. normative altruistic concerns, rather than by overtly instrumental considerations. Additional significant determinants of CCS were job pressure, job routinization. job competence and employees' understanding of customer service requirements. Research and policy implications of the study are discussed.     

服务行业优化人力资源配置的研究

服务行业是以客户服务为中心的行业,文章分析了目前留学服务行业存在的不足之处,并有针对性地提出提升人力资源管理的方法,同时利用仿真模型进行检验,为解决企业的实际问题提供了思路和方法。