Human resource management practices and corporate entrepreneurship: an empirical assessment from the USA

In this article, the relationship between human resource management and corporate entrepreneurship is assessed. The underlying nature of entrepreneurship is examined and the core dimensions of an entrepreneurial orientation are identified. Based on current classification schemes of HRM-related practices, an assessment is made of practices that facilitate rather than constrain entrepreneurial behaviour, and research hypotheses are generated. Results are reported of a cross-sectional survey of firms in which these hypotheses are tested. Conclusions and implications are drawn for managers, and suggestions are made for further research.     

Human resource management and business strategy links: an empirical study

Over recent years there has been an increasing interest in the field of human resource management. Currently, the literature encourages the consideration of human resources as strategic factors, not only because they play important role in strategy implementation, also because they are beginning to be reckoned as sources of sustainable competitive advantage. Relationships between human resource management and strategy have been studied from different perspectives. This article focuses on one of them. It examines matches between human resource practices and types of business strategy. The question addressed is: do human resource management practices vary with business strategy? To answer this question, empirical research was developed. Using data collected from 200 Spanish companies, this paper demonstrates significant associations between some human resource practices and business strategy in companies. Reported results support some of the previously established relationships. Implications for future research are discussed.     

Red cadres and specialists as modern managers: an empirical assessment of managerial competencies in China

It was suggested that the Chinese managers' backgrounds affect the characteristics of their knowledge and skills, values and attitudes, and personal connections, which, in turn, influence their competencies in fulfilling various aspects of the required managerial responsibilities. Hypothesized positive effects of tertiary training on related dimensions of managerial competencies were not fully supported. The ‘ed cadres’ who lacked tertiary training reported superior capabilities in managerial tasks requiring empathy towards employees and ideological identity with the government as predicted. However, the upward and lateral connections supposedly enjoyed by the red cadres did not appear to result in managerial advantages.     

Revisiting the objectives of worker-managed firms: An empirical assessment

This paper provides new evidence on the objectives pursued by worker-managed firms (WMFs). The basic neoclassical model assumes that WMFs maximizes net income per member instead of total profits (Ward, 1958). Even though it has been largely criticized, the Ward model has dominated the self-management literature. Alternative models suggest that WMFs are not only concerned about income per worker but also about the level of employment. However, the empirical content of these competing theoretical models has been rarely analyzed. This paper contributes to fill this gap by estimating the parameters of a generic welfare function, following the methodology proposed by Craig and Pencavel (1993). These parameters determine the relative importance that a WMF places on income per worker vis-a-vis the level of employment. Estimates are based on a long micro-panel of Uruguayan firms covering the entire population of Uruguayan worker-managed firm and conventional firms in 31 3-digit sectors over the period April 1996-December 2005. Following a strictly neoclassical framework, but simply allowing a more general specification of the WMF goals, we show that the assumption of the basic neoclassical model of the WMF is misleading. Our results support the view that WMFs are concerned with both employment and income per worker.     

Industrial awards as manifests of business performance: An empirical assessment

Although suppliers receive awards for various reasons, research on awards has mainly focused on those related to quality. We focus on other types of awards and enquire as to whether they relate to the supplier's financial performance. We investigate the relationship of operational awards by industrial customers and new product awards by industry forums on financial performance. We use long-term financial data for a large sample of suppliers to assess the relationships across product life cycle stages. Results indicate that during the growth stage, operational awards are associated with return on equity, whereas new product awards are associated with growth. As products mature, supplier and product awards both show an association with return on equity. A series of managerial implications are set forth and discussed.     

Demand forecasting and order planning for humanitarian logistics: An empirical assessment

Humanitarian aid organizations are most known for their short-term emergency relief. While getting aid items to those in need can be challenging, long-term projects provide an opportunity for demand planning supported by forecasting methods. Based on standardized consumption data of the Operational Center Amsterdam of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF-OCA) regarding nineteen longer-term aid projects and over 2000 medical items consumed in 2013, we describe and analyze the forecasting and order planning process. We find that several internal and external factors influence forecast and order planning performance, be it indirectly through demand volatility and safety markup. Moreover, we identify opportunities for further improvement for MSF-OCA, and for humanitarian logistics organizations in general.     

Human resource management and the energy crisis: An ostrich posture?

The energy crisis is going to change our assumptions about employment policies—much more so than we've admitted to ourselves. Let's face up to it.     

Fiscal forecasting performance in an emerging economy: An empirical assessment of Brazil

This study makes use of Brazilian data to analyze government budget balance forecast errors. Besides the analysis of the quality and efficiency of budget balance forecasts, economic, political, and institutional and governance dimensions are explored. The findings show that the data forecasts have low quality and efficiency. Furthermore, it is observed that the budget forecast error is subject to a backward-looking effect, a bias in the economic growth forecasts, as well as cyclical fluctuations. Finally, electoral cycles represent a source of overestimated forecasts, and strong institutions and governance supported by the public are able to suppress opportunistic motivations in budget forecasts.     

New perspectives on forecasting inflation in emerging market economies: An empirical assessment

We use a broad-range set of inflation models and pseudo out-of-sample forecasts to assess their predictive ability among 14 emerging market economies (EMEs) at different horizons (1–12 quarters ahead) with quarterly data over the period 1980Q1-2016Q4. We find, in general, that a simple arithmetic average of the current and three previous observations (the RW-AO model) consistently outperforms its standard competitors—based on the root mean squared prediction error (RMSPE) and on the accuracy in predicting the direction of change. These include conventional models based on domestic factors, existing open-economy Phillips curve-based specifications, factor-augmented models, and time-varying parameter models. Often, the RMSPE and directional accuracy gains of the RW-AO model are shown to be statistically significant. Our results are robust to forecast combinations, intercept corrections, alternative transformations of the target variable, different lag structures, and additional tests of (conditional) predictability. We argue that the RW-AO model is successful among EMEs because it is a straightforward method to downweight later data, which is a useful strategy when there are unknown structural breaks and model misspecification.     

Supplier innovativeness, organizational learning styles and manufacturer performance: An empirical assessment

Suppliers have become an increasingly important source of product and process innovation. While case studies have documented how supplier innovation can benefit a manufacturer, this relationship has not been empirically validated, nor have contingencies been explored. Using organizational learning theory we posit that the link between supplier innovativeness and manufacturer performance is moderated by the “fit” between the learning styles of the manufacturer and supplier. We empirically test our hypotheses using hierarchical linear modeling of survey responses from 148 manufacturers concerning 592 suppliers. Results indicate that supplier innovativeness has positive impacts on multiple dimensions of manufacturer performance. Results show that when the outsourced activity involves low levels of design responsibility by the supplier, it is more beneficial for the two partners to have contrasting learning styles. However, when the outsourced activity is design-intensive, it is more beneficial to have a supplier with an explorative learning style.     

An empirical assessment of assortative matching in the labor market

In labor markets with worker and firm heterogeneity, the matching between firms and workers may be assortative, meaning that the most productive workers and firms team up. We investigate this with longitudinal population-wide matched employer–employee data from Portugal. Using panel data methods, we quantify a firm-specific productivity term for each firm, and we relate this to the skill distribution of workers in the firm. We find that there is positive assortative matching, in particular among long-lived firms. Using skill-specific estimates of an index of search frictions, we find that the results can only to a small extent be explained by heterogeneity of search frictions across worker skill groups.     

基于模糊层次分析法的企业人力资源风险因素评价

文章结合三角模糊数和层次分析法,以企业外部环境、内部环境及人力资源个人3个方面的11个因素为指标体系,建立模糊层次分析模型,采用三角模糊数表示专家的判断信息,加权平均综合多名专家意见,利用层次分析法对专家判断结果进行处理从而得出各个评价因素的相对权重的大小,并举例说明了模型的应用。     

From market to hierarchy: An empirical assessment of a supply chain governance typology

This study performs an empirical assessment of the highly influential supply chain governance typology put forth in Gereffi et al. (2005). In spite of the influence this Global Value Chain (or GVC) Typology has had, there have been few (if any) attempts to empirically assess its alignment with real-world supply chain structures and to establish a baseline for its predictive utility. The GVC Typology is assessed for face and nomological validity through testing of its key dimensions in relation to purchasing-logistics integration and supplier performance measures, using an information-processing theory framework. The GVC Typology appears to have considerable face validity as actual supply chain governance structures aligned well with those it proposes. It also has reasonable predictive power with regards to governance dimensions and integration, and in some connections between governance types, integration, and supplier performance. This study provides researchers with the tools to move this typology beyond the “conceptual” stage in their work, allowing for holistic and higher-level assessments of supply chain governance structures and changes. It may also help researchers and managers to consider when and to what extent purchasing-logistics integration should be fostered.     

Key competencies for a transformed human resource organization: Results of a field study

As human resource organizations transform, staff competency requirements alter significantly. The question is: to what? The present study attempts to answer this question using data gathered within a single firm and employing a unique future-oriented, role-focused methodology. The results suggest a competency model with three parts: a relatively small number of core competencies, an even smaller number of leverage competencies applicable to half or more (but not all) of the roles, and a much larger number of competencies that are role-specific. This methodology can be readily replicated in an abbreviated form in virtually any organization. © 1996 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Human resource practices: Administrative contract makers

Practices used in recruiting, training, performance review, and compensation all contribute to employee beliefs in a psychological contract with their employer. This article presents the basic features of contract-making which human resource practices must manage. Organizations with multiple contract makers must align the messages they send to create a contract that works and can be kept. Recommendations are made for managing the psychological contract more effectively.