Social capital and career outcomes: a study of Chinese employees

This study examines the impacts of social capital on employees’ career outcomes in the Chinese context. Access to information and access to resources are hypothesized as the mediators in the relationships. A new measure of individual social capital is developed and used as the key predictor of the outcome variables. Data were collected from a survey administered to 184 employees in a state-owned enterprise. The results of regression analysis showed that individual social capital enhanced both career satisfaction and career achievement among Chinese employees. Further, access to information and access to resources were found to mediate the above relationships. The theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

为股东创造价值是公司形象的具体体现--对上市公司老总们的忠告

随着去年监管力度的加强,证券市场上陆续揭露并处罚了一批严重造假和违规的上市公司.市场上开始怀疑我国上市公司的整体质量,为此周小川主席前不久公开发表谈话说:"我们的上市公司绝大多数是好的和比较好的,造假违规的上市公司是极少数."不知道上市公司的老总们听了周主席的话有何感想.你不造假不违规,但是你尽到了一个公众公司的责任了吗?     

Reconstructing british rail: In search of a profitable railway

The objective of a profitable British Rail might be achieved by a segregation of its operating services and its permanent way (infrastructure). In the absence of a system of road pricing, only the operating services have the potential to be profitable. A segregation of railway operating services and infrastructure is also supported by an examination of fundamental characteristics of all modes of transport. While operating services exhibit the characteristics of competitive markets, infrastructure tends to monopoly. The reconstruction of British Rail in this way would improve the provision of transport services, by allowing competitive market pressures to be exerted more fully.     

In search of relevance: Project management in drifting environments

It can be assumed that projects are designed to produce relevant outcomes. However, it cannot be assumed that originally intended outcomes will necessarily remain relevant over time. This article explores the challenges to project management that stem from the possibility of relevance becoming eroded in the course of implementation. Relevance can become eroded when the environment of a project starts drifting. This may happen if, for example, customers change their preferences, competitors their strategies or corporate management their commitments. Alternative strategies for coping with drifting environments are discussed.     

The effect of job flexibility on female labor market outcomes: Estimates from a search and bargaining model

In this article, we develop a search model of the labor market in which jobs are characterized by work hours’ flexibility. Workers value flexibility, which is costly for employers to provide. We estimate the model on a sample of women extracted from the CPS. The model parameters are empirically identified because the accepted wage distributions of flexible and non-flexible jobs are directly related to the preference for flexibility parameters. Results show that more than one-third of women place a small, positive value on flexibility. Women with a college degree value flexibility more than women with only a high school degree. Counterfactual experiments show that flexibility has a substantial impact on the wage distribution but a negligible impact on the unemployment rate. These results suggest that wage and schooling differences between males and females may be importantly related to flexibility.     

In search of content validity: facet analysis as a qualitative method to improve questionnaire design

In this paper, two scales are examined for the measurement of self-regulation. The item content is evaluated for its specific usefulness for measuring self-regulation of obesity patients. Qualitative facet analysis (QFA), an application of Guttmann’s Facet Theory, is used to investigate whether item content sufficiently covers the intended content area. This form of content analysis constitutes a systematic, effective and critical tool for improving the content validity of questionnaires. It discovers topics that are underrepresented or overrepresented. The method offers a way to clarify the relationship between concrete item phrases and the desired content as defined by construct and theory. It allows the researcher to improve his or her understanding of the items as a stimulus and of the similarities of items, and allows the formulation of a possible structure for confirmative factor analysis. Various ways to improve the content of both scales are identified.     

In search of efficient network structures: the needle in the haystack

Searching for efficient networks can prove a very difficult analytical and even computational task. In this paper, we explore the possibility of using the genetic algorithms (GA) technique to identify efficient network structures in the case of non-trivial payoff functions. The robustness of this method in predicting optimal networks is tested on the two simple stylized models introduced by Jackson and Wolinsky (1996), for which the efficient networks are known over the whole state space of the parameters’ values. This approach allows us to obtain new exploratory results in the case of the linear-spatialized connections model proposed by Johnson and Gilles (Rev Econ Des 5:273–299, 2000), for which the efficient allocation of bilateral connections is driven by contradictory forces that push either for a centralized structure around a coordinating agent, or for only locally and evenly distributed connections. Murat Yıldızoğlu gratefully acknowledges the support of the CCRDT program of Aquitaine Region.     

In search of FDI horizontal spillovers in China: evidence from meta-analysis

Quality & Quantity - This paper contributes to the literature on foreign direct investment (FDI) technology spillover effects, focusing on horizontal spillovers from foreign firms to their...     

Same Direction,Different Paths: a Phenomenological Study of Employees who are Religious yet Open to Religious Pluralism

While there is a growing interest in workplace spirituality, much of that focus excludes religion even though the vast majority of people are affiliated with a religious tradition. Attempts to bring one’s “whole self” to work can be problematic for those who are religious because of concerns of offense or proselytizing. This phenomenological study explored the lived experience of a group of 15 professional employees who were personally religious while also remaining open to religious pluralism in the workplace. This group was largely Christian, and was chosen from participants in leadership seminars and graduate courses in the United States. Analysis revealed four different postures used by participants to express openness toward religious difference. These approaches are described in detail, and the implications of these finding for the advancement of pluralism in the workplace are considered.     

In search of management development in Europe: from self-fulfilling prophecies to organizational competence

This paper gives an overview and a critical analysis of the concept of High Flyer programmes in management development. Based on a discussion of the need for management development in modern knowledge- and service-based organizations, strengths and weaknesses of traditional management development programmes are discussed. In particular, the so-called ‘fast-track’programmes for high-potential employees are presented. This analysis shows that, although management development is supposed to be a vital contributor to organizational competence, learning, and change, High Flyer Programmes are (still) mainly an instrument for individual and personal career development. An alternative interpretation of management development is presented which emphasizes the match between personal growth and organizational learning and which links career, organization development and competitive advantage of the organization. In conclusion, implications for practice and research are discussed.

Quantitative results from the most recent Cranfield Network on European HRM Survey are presented and analysed.     

In search of a big enough stick to tame the wild operating room inventory beast

This article discusses the many aspects of a prime vendor relationship with a medical-surgical distributor. It outlines features or value-added services that should be included when a hospital embarks on a new prime vendor relationship or tries to improve an existing one.     

Socio-economic impacts of migrant clustering on Dutch neighbourhoods: In search of optimal migrant diversity

The recent empirical literature on the impact of migrant clustering on socio-economic welfare indicators shows inconclusive and often even contradictory results. In this paper we argue that there is not an unambiguous empirical outcome of migrant or ethnic diversity, but that it depends on the level of migrant or ethnic composition itself. A low degree of socio-economic and cultural diversity may be beneficial for neighbourhoods, whereas an excessive degree of diversity may be harmful. We test this hypothesis by (i) constructing a migrant clustering index for all neighbourhoods in the Netherlands based on a gamma index; and, subsequently, (ii) incorporating it in a regression framework to assess three relevant socio-economic outcomes: neighbourhood income, number of students, and average housing value. We show that there is apparently an optimal level of migrant clustering, and that it is remarkably robust. For the Netherlands as a whole and for the ten largest Dutch cities as well, it is striking that largely similar effects were found. Our results suggest that population composition in neighbourhoods may vary up to about 40 per cent from the national average before migrant clustering generates negative effects.     

Political culture: a theory in search for methodology. An editorial

Quality & Quantity -     

Organizational citizenship behaviour: a study of young executives in Canada,Iran, and Turkey

One of the most interesting constructs in organizational studies and human resource management is perhaps the concept of organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB). OCB emphasizes constructive and cooperative employee behaviours that contribute to the organization, yet do not fall within the domain of mandatory in-role behaviours. While researchers have investigated the role of contextual attitudes and dispositional attributes on the OCB, there is a lack in cross-cultural examination of this concept. The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of individuals' job-related attitudes and dispositional characteristics on their OCB in three different societal cultures, that is, Canada, Iran, and Turkey. Data reported were collected from 220 young executives in these three countries. The results reveal similarities and differences among these cultures on cognitive and affective predictors of OCB.     

Determinants of say on pay vote: a configurational analysis

International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal - This study is the first to employ a relatively new analytical method to investigate combinations of board structure and other corporate...     

In Sickness and in Health: Implications for Employers when Bipolar Disorders are Protected Disabilities

This paper explores the potential conflict between employment protections afforded to individuals with bipolar disorder, and employers’ obligations to maintain a safe working environment for others in the workplace. Both the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAA) provide workplace protections to those employees or applicants who are classified as qualified individuals with a disability. A disability is “a substantial impairment—a physical or mental impairment—in a major life activity that would substantially limit that major life activity.” ( 42 U.S.C. §§ 12102(1)(A)-(C)), and “mental impairment” is defined to include individuals with bipolar disorder (42 U.S.C. § 1630.2(h)(2)). These statutes further impose a requirement on employers to make reasonable accommodations for such individuals. In essence, they protect the bipolar employee from any discrimination in the workplace based on their disability, to include harassment by coworkers. However, employers may find themselves caught on the horns of a dilemma. Depending on the nature and severity of the bipolar employee’s conduct toward coworkers, they may also be exposed to liability for harm done to coworkers under negligent retention laws, or even the anti-harassment provisions of other equal employment statutes. If a bipolar employee’s negative behaviors toward coworkers are sufficiently severe or pervasive, they can result in coworkers suffering harassment sufficient to constitute actionable conduct under the ADA. To reduce exposure to litigation, employers must understand both their obligations under the ADA, and the nature of bipolar disorder.     

Determinants of agricultural entrepreneurship: a GEM data based study

The aim of this study is to explain the determinants of entrepreneurship in agriculture industry. What are the drivers of early stage entrepreneurial activity of agri-business entrepreneur and how it is influenced by various cognitive and social capital factors? To answers these questions various driving factors of entrepreneurial activity have been explored from the literature. To achieve the objective, the study uses APS (Adult Population Survey) 2013 data of 69 countries provided by GEM (Global Entrepreneurship Monitor). Total number of respondents 1470, those who are alone or with others, currently trying to start a new business, including any self-employment or selling any goods or services to others in Agriculture Industry, were selected from the data set. To measure the influence of cognitive and social capital factors on early stage entrepreneurial activity logistic regression was employed. The findings show that those who see entrepreneurial opportunities, are confident in their own skills and ability, having personal relationship or social networks with existing entrepreneurs, and have invested in others business as business angels are more likely to become an entrepreneur. Additionally, fear of failure or risk perception does not prevent people to become entrepreneur. Policy implications have been discussed. This is one the first study of its kind and contributes to the existing literature by explaining agricultural entrepreneurship through an integrated approach of entrepreneurial cognition and social networking.

     

In search of rationality: the purposes behind the use of formal analysis in organizations.

This paper describes the results of a study that examines how formal analysis is actually used in practice in three different organizations. Four main groups of purposes for formal analysis--information, communication, direction and control, and symbolic purposes--are identified and related to the nature of the social and hierarchical relationships between those who initiate analysis, those who do it, and those who receive it. It is concluded that, far from being antithetical as often assumed, formal analysis and social interaction are inextricably linked in organizational decision making and that different structural configurations may generate different patterns of use of analysis.     

Project‐as‐practice: In search of project management research that matters

Research on projects is not only an immature field of research, but it is also insubstantial when it comes to understanding what occurs in projects. This article contributes to making project management research matter to the academic as well as to the practitioner by developing a project‐as‐practice approach, in alignment with the ongoing debate in social science research. The article outlines a framework and argues that there are two major challenges to the researcher and also suggests how these challenges can be met. Underlying notions of the practice approach are outlined to ensure a development of the project‐as‐practice approach that makes project management research matter!     

Determinants of house prices in Istanbul: a quantile regression approach

This paper uses quantile regression methods where a hedonic equation is estimated for each quantile of the conditional distribution of housing prices. The survey data are used to investigate the relationship between house prices and housing characteristics in Istanbul. This data set includes some housing characteristics of the dwellings like numbers of room, bathroom, heating system, location of house etc. In the results of this paper show some similarities and differences from earlier studies on housing prices. We find that age, cable tv, security, heating system, garage, kitchen area, increasing numbers of room and bathroom increase the house prices. Our findings also show that side variable which is a special factor for Istanbul real estate market has negative effect on the prices. It is clear that the factors of housing prices can change because of the properties of country, region or city. The results of this study may give some important interpretations for developing real estate market.