HRM practice in emerging economies: a long way to go in the Slovak hotel industry?

Using empirical data from interviews among leading hotels in Slovakia, this paper sets out to explore recent developments in human resource management (HRM) policies and practices and labour relations in an emerging Central European economy. The main areas explored are the HRM function, employee resourcing, employee development, employee relations and emerging HRM issues. The paper establishes that there has been a move away from the traditional rigid socialist type of personnel management, but it has not been fully replaced by HRM practices. The emergent 'model' is a hybrid of the traditional Western personnel management and basic HRM activities, alongside which some legacies of the socialist personnel function still exist.     

Standardization or localization? Executing corporate philanthropy in international firms

• Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become a key component of a firm's reputation. The reputational vulnerabilities and pressure for CSR are perhaps greatest among international firms with business activities across many countries and cultures. Although the strategies of firms entering new markets have been well researched, the CSR component of the market entry decision has been largely ignored, despite its significant relationship with the financial performance of the firm. Further, previous research has largely considered CSR from an environmental performance point of view, and thus has focused on a minimum level of investment in CSR as opposed to the optimal form of the investment. Our paper seeks to address this gap by examining market entry decisions as they relate to corporate philanthropy.

Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The end of the corporate environmental report? Or the advent of cybernetic sustainability reporting and communication

It is becoming clear that communicating effectively with stakeholders on progress towards economic prosperity, environmental quality and social justice i.e. the triple bottom line, will become a defining characteristic of corporate responsibility in the 21st century (Elkington J. 1998. Cannibals with Forks: the Triple Bottom Line of 21st Century Business. New Society: Vancouver). However, most companies that currently use paper‐based and even web‐based communication vehicles for their corporate performance reports are not realizing the full potential value of these communications – either for themselves or for their stakeholders. This may be due in part to the fact that historically reports have not sufficiently engaged ‘direct stakeholders’, i.e. employees, customers, investors, suppliers and local communities. In this paper we review the recent history of environmental and social reporting and conclude that, whilst much progress has been made, significant challenges remain. Most notably these challenges include (i) the avoidance of engagement fatigue by stakeholders and opinion formers alike and (ii) the extension of triple‐bottom‐line principles from corporate headquarters into business unit operations. Conversely there is enormous potential for addressing these challenges and creating significant value for both corporations and their stakeholders through the development of truly interactive (cybernetic) corporate sustainability reports and communications delivered via the internet and other channels. We explore some of the implications of what we believe to be an inevitable transition in how these communications will be orchestrated. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment     

Is environmental innovation conducive to corporate financing? The moderating role of advertising expenditures

Environmental innovation is an important way for firms to achieve sustainable development and acquire resources. Based on the stakeholder, resource dependence, and signal transmission theories, this study divided environmental innovation into substantive and strategic eco‐innovation and constructed a relationship model among environmental innovation, advertising expenditures, and corporate financing. Selecting 162 Chinese manufacturing listed companies from 2012 to 2017 as the research sample and adopting the multiple regression analysis method, the study found that substantive eco‐innovation had a positive effect on corporate financing, but strategic eco‐innovation had a significant negative effect on corporate financing. Further, advertising expenditures played a positive moderating role between substantive eco‐innovation, strategic eco‐innovation, and corporate financing. The robustness test further confirmed these results.     

The risk–return relation in the corporate loan market

This paper analyzes the hypothesis that returns play a risk-compensating role in the market for corporate revolving lines of credit. Specifically, we test whether borrower risk and the expected return on these debt instruments are positively related. Our main findings support this prediction, in contrast to the only previous work that examined this problem two decades ago. Nevertheless, we find evidence of mispricing regarding the risk of deteriorating firms using their facilities more intensively and during the subprime crisis.     

Old flames never die – the role of binding social ties for corporate entrepreneurship in family firms

This paper investigates the role of social ties and family embeddedness for corporate entrepreneurship in family firms. Family firms are mostly characterized by close and often inseparable ties between the dominant family coalition and the firm and offer specific resources within a context of both rational as well as non-rational factors that influence entrepreneurial strategies. We empirically test (n =?181) the relationship between binding social ties and innovation, strategic renewal, and corporate venturing. Our findings indicate a strong significance for networks and close and stable relationships both to inside the firm and the outside in decision making for corporate venturing and innovation. In contrast, the results for strategic renewal show no relevance of strong social ties. We link up with the debate on the role of owners as an important stakeholder group.

     

Do board sustainability committees contribute to corporate environmental and social performance? The mediating role of corporate social responsibility strategy

The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of board sustainability committees on environmental and social performance and to examine the mediating effect of corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy on the relationship between the presence of board sustainability committees and corporate sustainability performance. Using data of U.K. listed firms for the period of 2009–2016, the study employs panel regression analysis and bootstrapping techniques to test study hypotheses. The results suggest that the presence of a sustainability committee improves the effectiveness of CSR strategies. The results also indicate that firms with effective CSR strategies exhibit better environmental and social performance. Further, the empirical results show that the effectiveness of CSR strategy explains the positive relationship between board sustainability committees and corporate environmental and social performance, thus supporting the theoretical framework of the study. The findings of the study shed new light on this research direction and could be of interest to board members, managers, practitioners, investors, policy makers, and regulators that plan to promote sustainability practices and strategies needed for sustainable development.     

Not paying dividends? A decomposition of the decline in dividend payers

Current payout policy literature contends that firms’ propensity to pay dividends declined between 1978 and 1998. Using the Oaxaca decomposition methodology, we measure changes in the propensity to pay dividends between 1978 and 1998. Results suggest that firms today have only a slightly lower propensity to pay dividends. Furthermore, when we also categorize firms that use stock repurchases as dividend payers, we find that 100% of the decline in the proportion of dividend payers can be explained by changes in firm characteristics only. The difference is that firms that firms are now repurchasing stock instead of paying dividends.     

Does corporate environmental responsibility engagement affect firm value? The mediating role of corporate innovation

This paper aims to construct a comprehensive corporate environmental responsibility (CER) engagement measurement to examine the relationship between CER engagement and firm value as well as explore the mediating effect of corporate innovation on this relationship based on a sample of 496 China's A‐share listed companies from 2008 to 2016. The results show that when firms start to adopt environmental regulations, CER would have a negative effect on firm value; however, at a specific level, CER would start to enhance firm value positively. In addition to this, corporate innovation plays a mediating role in the relationship between CER and firm value. Corporate innovation promotes firm value of firms with CER more than firms without CER. Overall, the findings of this paper are extremely relevant for the government, investors, and firm's managers and can be utilized for policy and investment decision making. Also, the findings encourage firms to enhance their sense of environmental responsibility in order to enhance their competitive advantages, enhance corporate innovation capabilities, and thus enhance firm value.     

The Role of Statistics in the Data Revolution?

The nature of data is rapidly changing. Data sets are becoming increasingly large and complex. Modern methodology for analyzing these new types of data are emerging from the fields of Data Base Managment, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Pattern Recognition, and Data Visualization. So far Statistics as a field has played a minor role. This paper explores some of the reasons for this, and why statisticians should have an interest in participating in the development of new methods for large and complex data sets.     

To what extent is corporate social responsibility part of human resource management in the Chinese context? A review of literature and future research directions

There has been considerable research attention to corporate social responsibility (CSR) in relation to human resource management (HRM) in the Chinese context in the last decade. This systematic review of extant literature of CSR–HRM in the Chinese context is thus undertaken with the aim of identifying what we know, what the gaps are in this field of research, and what their relevance is to theory and practice. It reveals a number of limitations in the emerging body of CSR–HRM research in the Chinese context. We call for more context-driven and interdisciplinary and multi-level research oriented to organizational problem-solving, to make our CSR–HRM studies more legitimate and relevant for businesses and societies. We also call for a more in-depth and refined approach to research design, in order to better understand organizational CSR–HRM practices, workplace environments, and related outcomes. Research on CSR–HRM in Chinese firms also needs to be situated in the international context with broader implications, because Chinese firms do not operate in isolation. Rather, they are governed, directly and indirectly, by international institutions and seek to influence global governance at the same time, with HRM implications. Finally, research on CSR–HRM in the Chinese context needs to be framed in a broader framework and to assess real-life issues and impacts.     

The measurement of work–family culture in Spain and some applications to other economies

This investigation adapts the scales assessing work–family culture to consider several characteristics found in Spanish organizations (e.g. extended schedules and a high value attributed to working long hours). Organizational phenomena not included in other scales are integrated into a modified instrument (e.g. managers efforts to inform about the available work–family benefits, being considered more efficient when working many hours). Suggestions on the measurement of these new features in other economies are provided. Two studies are conducted: one to develop the scale and another to validate it. The resulting instrument comprehends three components: managerial support, career consequences and supervisor support.     

The forgotten employees? The experiences of expatriate staff returning to the UK

This article reports on the experiences of a group of expatriate UK managers and professionals who have recently returned to the UK from foreign assignments. A brief review of the literature in this field is presented and the findings of a questionnaire survey of 124 ‘returnees’. The data show that many expatriates face difficulties upon their return in terms of their career prospects, psychological well-being and general adaptation to life back home. The paper goes on to suggest ways in which these transitions can be managed more effectively by organizations and individual employees. It concludes by proposing directions for future research.     

Does the presentation reform of R&D expenses in China ease financial constraints in corporate innovation?

Focusing on a sample of 9387 observations in China over the period 2016−2019, this paper empirically examines whether the presentation reform of R&D expenses that is changed from notes to income statements, mitigates corporate financial constraints of Chinese listed companies. Findings offer evidence that the financial constraints of firms decrease after the policy change, which is owing to the alleviation of information asymmetry. Further analysis reveals that the effect of the presentation reform on financial constraints is less prominent among companies that are state-owned, audited by the “Big four” and of higher institutional ownership. Overall, our study provides evidence supporting the influences of the format reform of financial reports and has implications for information users, regulators, and standard setters.     

Farewell to the salaryman? The changing roles and work of middle managers in Japan

The 1990s and 2000s witnessed significant organizational change in Japanese firms and accompanying readjustments to the employment system. Such changes potentially have major implications for middle managers, or salarymen, in Japanese corporations. A survey of human resource managers and middle managers in eight medium sized Japanese organizations pointed to fairly significant, if not radical, change. This did, indeed, impact upon middle managers in those organizations. While the middle managers felt reasonably secure in their jobs, the nature of their jobs had reportedly changed, with a greater range of tasks, work intensification, longer hours, greater stress, more accountability, and a worsening work–life balance.     

Why Are Concavity Conditions Not Satisfied in the Cost Function? The Case of Japanese Manufacturing Firms during the Bubble Period*

This paper examines empirically the reasons why Japanese manufacturing firms frequently fail to satisfy concavity of the cost function in input prices. We focus on the ‘bubble period’ in the 1980s when land was in great demand and land prices soared. By estimating the translog cost function with land as one of production inputs, we find that violation of concavity mainly resulted from weak bank–firm relationship and massive transactions of land. We also demonstrate that elasticities of substitution between land and other inputs are estimated quite differently if the firms violating concavity are not excluded from the analysis.     

Work–family conflict/family–work conflict,job stress,burnout and intention to leave in the hotel industry in Quebec (Canada): moderating role of need for family friendly practices as “resource passageways”

Abstract

This study examines how the need for family friendly practices contribute in increasing the effects of work–family conflict (WFC) and family–work conflict (FWC) on job stress, burnout, and intention to leave in the hotel industry in Quebce (258 staff). The essential results indicate that the perception of a need for childcare moderates the relationship between FWC, job stress, and burnout. Also, employees wanting to have a compressed workweek and part time measures are exposed to more stress related to WFC/FWC. Finally, the four measures can constitute resources passageways in order to reduce the work-family interference, job stress, burnout and therefore the intention to leave. Theoretically, he results extend this line of theorizing by highlighting the importance of subjective needs for family friendly policies, as ‘resource caravan passageways’, in the work–family interface and job outcome processes. The perception of a desire or need for these measures offers a new understanding of these practices. Practically, identifying who is more sensitive to family friendly measures would enable organizations or employers to allocate supportive resources more adequately by targeting those employees who are most in need of such practices.     

The intranet's role in newcomer socialization in the hotel industry in Taiwan – technology acceptance model analysis

This study examined a research model for explaining the relationships of intranet adoption and newcomers' organizational socialization in the hotel industry. Data were gathered for a structural equation model (SEM) analysis, from 298 individual participants, who had only worked in a hotel for 6 months to 1 year. The research results demonstrated the mediation role of the perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use of the intranet. The SEM results also revealed that usage of the intranet did increase the extent of an employee's socialization into the organization. Moreover, PU has direct and indirect effects on socialization. Tests on gender and age differences were conducted. The invariance analysis of the theory model showed that both males and females demonstrated the same patterns in performing technology acceptance factors and socialization, whereas different age groups demonstrated significantly different paths. The direct effect of PU was not significant for the newcomers aged over 35.