Pricing by state‐owned enterprises: the case of postal services

Sappington and Sidak develop a model of state‐owned enterprise (SOE) pricing behavior in which firms maximize a weighted average of revenues and profits. The model predicts that SOEs will lower prices in more‐elastic markets and raise them in less‐elastic markets if the weight they place on profit is positive. The Postal Reorganization Act of 1970 relaxed the institutional constraints on pricing by the US Postal Service, which allows a test of the Sappington–Sidak model. The model's predictions are broadly confirmed. Congress passed the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act in 2006, which may help address some anticompetitive concerns in this industry. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Mixed ownership reforms and the transparency of nonstate-owned enterprises: Evidence from China

This paper takes Chinese Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share nonstate-owned listed companies from 2008 to 2019 as samples to study the impact and mechanism of state-owned capital participation on the transparency of nonstate-owned enterprises. The results show that state-owned capital participation has a significant positive impact on the transparency of nonstate-owned enterprises. In terms of the mechanism of action, state-owned capital participation positively impacts corporate transparency by increasing investors' attention. Further research finds that the positive effect of state-owned capital participation on foreign-funded enterprises and enterprises with few financing constraints is more prominent.     

Financialisation,ownership and employee interests under private equity at the AA,part two

This article examines a theoretically informed case study of the effects of financialisation at the workplace. It focuses in particular on trade union de‐recognition and trade union recognition in the furtherance of ownership interests. The paper reports on the continued diffusion of investor‐owner interests under the private equity business model which has recently witnessed the AA re‐listed on the stock market. It addresses two research questions. One, how are investor‐owner interests secured by trade union de‐recognition and re‐recognition? Two, how and why, as a de‐recognised trade union, does the GMB continue to campaign for and represent GMB members in the AA when the IDU (the independent democratic union) has sole recognition at the firm?     

Challenged and satisfied: the role of organisational ownership and employee involvement

Abstract

This study aims to offer a more fine-grained approach to our understanding of the relationship between job stress and job satisfaction. Building on organisational theory and Job Demand-Control model, we investigated an important institutional characteristic – organisational ownership – as an additional moderator to influence the interactive effects of job demands and control upon job satisfaction. Using data collected from 1838 Chinese retail sector employees, we found that this three-way interaction was strongest for employees working in foreign-invested firms, who experienced higher employee involvement at work and perceived a high level of challenge-related stress. The relationship was weakest for employees in state-owned enterprises who reported low levels of both employee involvement and challenge-related stress. Our study constitutes an early attempt to assess the impact of institutional characteristics such as ownership on aspects of human resources management, and highlights the need for further research to recognise the importance of such characteristics as contextual factors that influence the effect of organisational practices and the work environment upon individual work-related outcomes. The paper’s concluding sections elaborate on the contributions our research makes both to theory as well as to the practicalities faced by human resource managers in contexts such as China.     

Job characteristics,employee voice and well‐being in Britain

Job characteristics are often omitted when analysing job satisfaction, but these are crucial to work psychology models, such as the Karasek model. There has also been a neglect of non‐union voice. This study uses data from the 2004 Workplace Employee Relations Survey to investigate the associations between job characteristics and employee voice and well‐being. Improvements in the survey from that of 1998 mean that we can examine two dimensions of well‐being: job satisfaction and the less studied anxiety–contentment. Support is found for the basic Karasek model that both measures of well‐being are negatively related to job demands and positively related to job control; moreover, high job controls reduce the negative association between job demands and both measures. Supportive management is also related to both measures but does not play the buffering role between demands and well‐being that job control does. Union membership is found to be unrelated to job satisfaction and anxiety–contentment, but a perception of consultative management is.     

The impact of psychological ownership on employee retention in mergers and acquisitions

Research has demonstrated that turnover rates among employees and executives in the acquired firm are much higher during an M&A event. Recent empirical and review articles on M&A have also shown that employee retention/turnover can best be understood by looking at psychological attributes and perceptions of M&As, thus drawing significant attention to the psychological and ‘human’ side voids to theoretically exploit and enhance understanding of people-related problems in M&A endeavors. In this article, we develop a moderated mediation model and propose that acquired firm employees' psychological ownership is positively related to acquired firm employees' retention through the direct and mediating effects of employees' commitment and involvement in M&A. We also propose that the effect of acquired firm employees' psychological ownership on employees' commitment and involvement and, ultimately, acquired firm employees' retention is moderated by loss of acquired firm autonomy. We also discuss implications for theory and practice, as well as future research directions of such an employees' psychological ownership perspective on retention effects.     

引入信托模式完善我国职工持股计划

职工持股计划是我国国有企业推行产权制度改革、完善公司治理结构、提高资产运营效率的有效方式和重要选择,并且已经取得了很多成功经验。但是在具体实施中表现出诸多问题。文章介绍了职工持股信托的推行将为解决我国职工持股实践中的种种问题提供理想的思路和可行的方法。     

新一轮国企改革的突破口--本刊编辑部就上海电气集团进行产权主体多元化、混合所有制改革召开座谈会及京沪经济学者纵论述要

2004年1月10日,上海电气(集团)总公司挂牌招商引资,实行投资主体多元化、发展混合经济所有制的改革,引起了国内外企业界、经济界及理论界的密切关注。为了及时、准确地聚焦上海电气新一轮国资改革的最新动态、发展进程及社会各界的反响,我刊开辟了“相关链接”专栏,作为百家纵论的平台。同时,本刊在第一时间邀请了有关专家进行了座谈,并通过“相关链接”采集到京沪著名经济学者的见解,这些见解,虽是一家之言,但颇具卓识,均有显著的代表性,经过整理,在此一并发表。此后,我们将会继续以座谈会及其他各种形式听取社会各界,企业家、专家、学者的见解和建言。我们的初衷和主旨是为了促进和完善新一轮的国资改革,希望能得到社会各界的关注和支持。     

引入信托模式完善我国职工持股计划

职工持股计划是我国国有企业推行产权制度改革、完善公司治理结构、提高资产运营效率的有效方式和重要选择，并且已经取得了很多成功经验。但是在具体实施中表现出诸多问题。文章介绍了职工持股信托的推行将为解决我国职工持股实践中的种种问题提供理想的思路和可行的方法。     

The role of state ownership and institutions in the innovation performance of emerging market enterprises: Evidence from China

Although it has been suggested that institutional context influences a firm's innovation performance, the role of regulatory institutions has been underexplored. Extending previous research, this study investigates whether and how regulatory institutions (i.e. state ownership, region-specific marketization and industry-specific institutional policy) affect innovation performance of emerging market enterprises (EMEs). Evidence derived from a large sample of Chinese manufacturing firms demonstrates that state ownership positively moderates the effect of R&D intensity on innovation performance. However, state ownership is not equally beneficial for all firms. Our analysis shows that region-specific marketization and industry-specific institutional policy enhance the innovation-enhancing effect of state ownership. By revealing the role of regulatory institutions, our study points to the importance of looking beyond firm boundaries to understand why EMEs are able to innovate despite their weak internal capabilities.     

国有物流企业重组变革探析

从管理的角度分析储运资源的经营现状，以及在储运服务过程中存在的问题，对重组中的广州市广百物流有限公司，要确立服务领先的经营发展战略，要从客户资源整合、能力资源整合和信息资源整合三方面，悉心打造广百物流的服务优势，实现预定的战略目标。     

Fairness perceptions and work attitudes revisited: roles of employee specialty,hospital level and ownership

Compensation is widely acknowledged as an important job element in the eyes of employees. Health care is a special industry in which compensation received by employees differs greatly. This study examines empirically the relationships between hospital employees' perceptions of compensation fairness and their work attitudes, taking into account the roles of employee specialty, hospital level and ownership. Using data from 2,938 employees of thirty hospitals in Taiwan, the results indicate that fairness perceptions and work attitudes differ significantly among hospital employees according to their specialties. Hospital level and ownership exert impacts on employees' fairness perceptions, although not on their work attitudes. A positive relationship is observed between fairness perceptions and work attitudes of hospital employees.     

The role of employee HR attributions in the relationship between high‐performance work systems and employee outcomes

Although research has shown that the use of high‐performance work systems (HPWS) is associated with employee outcomes, our knowledge of the meanings employees attach to HPWS systems and how these shape employee outcomes is still limited. This study examines the signalling impact of enacted HPWS on HR well‐being and HR performance attributions, and how these influence happiness‐ and health‐related outcomes. Using multilevel data (1,065 employees nested within 150 work units) obtained from multiple sources (line managers and employees), our results show that coverage of HPWS was positively associated with the two HR attributions. In addition, HR well‐being attributions were associated with higher levels of commitment and lower levels of job strain. HR performance attributions were associated with higher levels of job strain. The findings of this study highlight the importance of taking into account how employees attach meaning to enacted HPWS in order to predict employee outcomes.     

国有企业固定资产净值变化的分形刻划

本文用分形理论来研究国有企业固定资产净值变化的特点,得到了与实际情况相吻合的结论,揭示了国有企业固定资产净值变化的复杂程度,就造成这一复杂程度的原因进行了详细的分析。     

The effect of employee share ownership on employee commitment and turnover: comparing the cases in Britain and South Korea and the role of the economy

Despite the consensus in the employee share ownership (ESO) literature for the need to explore contexts that influence ESO outcomes, studies examining two important factors, national context and status of the economy, are limited. In this study, the authors compare the outcomes of ESOs in Britain and South Korea during economic expansion and downturn. The results demonstrate that, during an economic expansion, the effect of ESOs in increasing employee commitment is stronger in South Korea, while their effect in decreasing employee turnover is stronger in Britain. However, during an economic downturn, the authors find no evidence for these effects in both societies. The findings lend support to the contingency perspective in managing ESOs and provide meaningful implications and guidance to the literature.     

All for one and one for all: A mechanism through which broad‐based employee stock ownership and employee‐perceived involvement practice create a productive workforce

Drawing on social identity theory, this research frames a multimediational model that delineates how broad‐based employee stock ownership (BESO) and employee‐perceived involvement practice in tandem yield a productive workforce at the organization level. In our theoretical model, we propose that social cohesion and voluntary turnover are collective attitudinal and behavioral outcomes resulting from the shared perception of we‐ness that employees experience through both participatory practices. Our path analysis of a multisource, time‐lagged dataset from 176 large U.S. companies revealed the sequential mediating roles of social cohesion and voluntary turnover between these organizational practices and labor productivity. Our theoretical claims and empirical evidence will contribute to a systematic understanding of how and why BESO and employee involvement leverage greater organizational productivity from employees.     

The re-examination of the relationship between employee stock ownership and voluntary employer change intention in Taiwan

Although past literature had provided inconsistent conclusions as to whether or not employee stock ownership (ESO) can serve the function of employee retention, this paper proposes that the reason for such inconsistency lies in the inability to clarify ESO characteristics. Therefore, this study examines the relationship between ESO and voluntary employer change intention from the viewpoint of vested and portable characteristics. Study results indicated that vested ESO achieves the function of employee retention. However, when vested ESO is also portable, employees tend to spend more efforts searching for external ESO alternatives, which reinforce their voluntary employer change intention.     

An empirical analysis of the corporate control,tax and incentive motivations for adopting leveraged employee stock ownership plans

This paper examines three motivations for leveraged ESOP adoption: as a takeover defense, as a mechanism for providing incentives to employees and as a vehicle for tax savings. ESOP adoption is more likely for companies with a higher predicted probability of takeover, but ESOP adopters have many characteristics that are different from takeover targets. Companies that adopt ESOPs can be distinguished from non-adopting companies based on characteristics associated with the tax and incentive effects of these plans. The size of the ESOP is shown to depend primarily on the tax and incentive characteristics.     

The impact of employee‐share‐ownership schemes on performance in unionised and non‐unionised workplaces

Conventional wisdom suggests that higher performance is observed when employee‐share‐ownership (ESO) schemes coexist with employee participation arrangements. However, the evidence is inconclusive and it has been suggested that performance benefits occur in ESO workplaces only when employees are actually involved in the decision‐making process. Drawing on the cross‐section data from the 1998 Workplace Employee Relations Survey, the article shows that higher productivity is observed in those workplaces where unions coexist with ESO schemes. This result highlights the relevance of unions to High Performance Work Systems.