Human Resource Management in the Building Industry： International Comparison

This paper summarizes the results of the international questionnaire survey which took place at the start of 2013 in order to examine, judge, and compare the implemented concept and procedures of human resource management in the questioned building companies operating in the Visegrad Four countries （the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and the Slovak Republic） and the Federal Republic of Germany, and proposes an optimal approach to human resource management in the context of the current and expected economic development. The questionnaire survey was based on the assumption that effective human resource management is a condition of the successful function of each building company and that human resource management is that area of management which distinguishes the successful building companies from the unsuccessful ones. In total, 202 companies from the Czech Republic, 105 companies from Hungary, 100 companies from Poland, 102 companies from the Slovak Republic, and 99 companies from the Federal Republic of Germany took part in the questionnaire survey. The results of the questionnaire survey showed that among the building companies questioned in individual countries, there was no substantial difference in the overall concept and in the partial procedures of human resource management. The implemented concept and procedures in the questioned building companies show significant merits and surprising shortcomings, whereas it is difficult to prove an unequivocal connection between the efficiency of human resource management and the success of building companies. This relationship is determined by a series of other political, economic, legal, social, cultural, technical, demographic, and natural effects which are not related to the efficiency of human resource management or to the performance of the workforce of building companies.     

Human Resource Controlling and Human Resource Management： Practice of Small and Medium-Sized Building Companies in the Czech Republic

The aim of this paper is to define the nature, present the possibilities, and discuss the problems of using human resource controlling in small and medium-sized building companies. This paper is based on the assumption that expedient human resource controlling is an effective human resource management tool that achieves the required performance of employees and expected competitiveness of a building company. This paper uses the results of a questionnaire survey conducted in November 2013 to analyze human resource management in building companies in the Czech Republic and specify the organization and conditions of human resource management. Some 81 small （less than 50 employees） and 66 medium-sized （50-249 employees） building companies operating in the Czech Republic took part in the questionnaire survey. The results of the questionnaire survey showed the lack of concept and random nature of human resource management in most small and medium-sized building companies. Of course, in terms of the present economic trend, it is above all important for small and medium-sized companies to develop their adaptability to the building market and to be able to deal with a variety of construction works. It is effective human resource management supported by expedient human resources that serves this purpose.     

Internal Commitment or External Collaboration? The Impact of Human Resource Management Systems on Firm Innovation and Performance

Complementing previous research that showed a positive effect of general human resource management (HRM) systems on general firm performance, this article undertakes an integrative approach to compare the main effects and examine the interaction effects of two particular HRM systems on influencing firm innovation and performance. Using data from 179 organizations in China, we found that both the commitment‐oriented system, which emphasized internal cohesiveness, and the collaboration‐oriented system, which was intended to build external connections, contributed to firm innovation and, subsequently, bottom‐line performance. We also found an attenuated interaction between the two HRM systems in predicting firm innovation. We employed a mediated‐moderation path model to extricate the relationships. Results suggested that organizations that implemented both HRM systems to promote innovation might face ambidexterity challenges. Ideas for future research and practical implications are discussed.     

The Gray Measurement of Human Resource Value

In knowledge economy, the competitive power of each enterprise depends greatly on whether it has high-quality human resources. The measurement of the value of human resource is quite critical in evaluating and improving the quality of human resource in enterprises. Current human resource evaluating methods either merely concern about the investment on staff recruitment or estimate the value based on the assumed future salaries of staff, which fail to reveal the real value of human resources. In fact, the value of human resource is a gray system which consists of individual intelligence, physical strength and experiences, and it should be measured by using the gray model.     

How Does Executive Strategic Human Resource Management Link to Organizational Ambidexterity? An Empirical Examination of Manufacturing Firms in China

Despite a plethora of studies that demonstrate the positive impact of strategic human resource management on firm performance, existing knowledge of the processes through which such gains can be achieved remains limited. This study aims to extend our knowledge by investigating the mechanism through which a teamwork‐oriented executive strategic human resource management system impacts organizational ambidexterity. Specifically, by integrating the resource‐based view and information‐processing theory, we examine the mediating role of top management team effectiveness and the moderating role of knowledge–sharing intensity from middle managers to top management teams. Drawing on a multiple‐source and multiple‐respondent survey from 144 manufacturing firms in China, we show that top management team effectiveness partially mediates the effect of the executive strategic human resource management system on organizational ambidexterity. Moreover, knowledge‐sharing intensity from middle managers to top management teams strengthens the effect of the executive strategic human resource management system on organizational ambidexterity. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Stages,Content, and Theory of Strategic Human Resource Management （SHRM）： An Exploratory Study

This study discusses ＂theory of strategic human resource management （HRM） has an impact on research topic of this study is to discuss SHRM resource management （SHRM）＂. Theory of SHRM is that human firm performance through employee performance. Therefore, the theory. Research method is literature scanning. Research findings are, firstly, that strategic HRM can be defined with employee/firm performance relationship. Secondly, this study depicts its own SHRM model. In this model, HRM practices develop individual performance of employees in organizations, and individual performance increases performance of business departments, such as supply department, finance department, marketing department, logistics department, etc., and performance of business departments has an impact on firm performance. Furthermore, this study makes its SHRM definition. So far, there have been two definitions of SHRM in literature studies. The first definition identifies SHRM with corporate strategies and competitive advantage. The second definition describes SHRM with HRM-firm performance relationship. This study makes the third definition, namely, SHRM is employee/firm performance relationship, and this definition is figured in an SHRM model in this study.     

Where do We Go From Here? New Perspectives on the Black Box in Strategic Human Resource Management Research

The main objective of the present research is to briefly review the strategic human resource management (HRM) literature from multilevel theoretical perspectives to summarize what we know about mediating mechanisms in the HR–performance relationship. By doing so, we highlight future research needs to advance theoretical understanding of the ‘black box’ in strategic HRM research. Furthermore, by offering additional theoretical perspectives that can be used to understand the mediating mechanisms at different levels, we suggest future research directions that capture the complexities associated with strategic HRM through a multilevel theoretical lens. Implications of the model are discussed.     

Agustín Maravall: An interview with the International Journal of Forecasting

Agustín Maravall Herrero (Madrid, 1944) is one of the world’s authorities in seasonal adjustment and automatic forecasting of economic time series. He studied Agricultural Engineering and completed a doctorate at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. With a Ford-Fulbright fellowship he moved to the University of Wisconsin-Madison to obtain a Ph.D. in Economics in 1975. He worked at the Research Division of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors (the Fed) in Washington D.C. and in 1979 returned to Madrid as a Senior Economist in the Research Department of the Banco de España (BE). In the period 1989-96, he was a full professor in the Department of Economics of the European University Institute (EUI) in Florence. He returned to the BE as Chief Economist and Head of the Time Series Analysis Unit and retired in December 2014.Maravall has done outstanding research in time series and has been a pioneer in developing methodology and writing computer programs for automatic estimation and model selection, seasonal adjustment, and forecasting of time series. His programs “Time Series Regression with ARIMA noise, Missing observations and Outliers” (TRAMO) and “Signal Extraction in ARIMA Time Series” (SEATS), jointly developed with Victor Gómez, have had a large influence in applied forecasting, including adjusting series for seasonality and possibly other undesirable effects, such as outliers, or missing observations, and have been used in many economic institutions around the world. He has been very active in promoting the automatic analysis of time series, teaching short courses in many countries. Also, he has stimulated research in this field being on the editorial board of the Journal of Business and Economic Statistics and the Journal of Econometrics. He has been a Special Advisor to the European Central Bank (ECB) and Eurostat in time series analysis. His research contributions have been recognized as Fellow of the Journal of Econometrics, 1995; Fellow of the American Statistical Association, 2000; Julius Shiskin Award for Economic Statistics, 2004, and the highest prizes for Economic Research in Spain: The Rey Jaime I Prize in Economics, 2005 and the Rey Juan Carlos Prize in Economics, 2014.     

Introduction to Special Issue on “Innovating Actuarial Research on Financial Risk and Enterprise Risk Management”

Decisions in Economics and Finance -