High involvement work practices and firm performance

During the past two decades the chain of three links organizational strategy – human resources practices – organizational performance has been deeply analysed. However, the mediator role of organizational structure in the first link of this chain remains relatively uninvestigated. In this article we analyse a model of relationships among organizational strategy, organizational structure, human resources practices, and organizational performance. Through a structural equation methodology applied to a sample of 183 Spanish companies, we will try to confirm that organizations with differentiation strategies are more likely to implement high involvement work practices. As a novelty we will introduce organizational structure as a mediator of this relationship. For that we will use the construct control mechanisms (centralization, formalization and socialization). Further, we will analyse the effect on firm performance of these proposed relationships among differentiation strategy, control mechanisms and high involvement work practices.     

A Comprehensive Framework for Sustainable Project Portfolio Selection Based on Structural Equation Modeling

Project selection problems are inherently complex problems with multiple and often conflicting objectives. The complexity of project selection problems is due to the high number of projects from which a subset (portfolio) has to be chosen. Various analytical methods, ranging from the simple weighted sum to complex mathematical programming have been proposed to solving these problems. We propose an integrated approach for strategic and sustainable project portfolio selection, which is composed of two distinct but interrelated modules. In the first module, we use the strategic planning and sustainability concepts to select a set of promising projects. In the second module, we use a project portfolio selection procedure to choose among the promising projects identified in the first module. A structural equation model is used to analyze and explain the relationships among different factors in the proposed framework. More specifically, we investigate the effects of: (1) strategic level performance on sustainability, post‐implementation, and overall performance; (2) implementation performance on post‐implementation and overall performance; (3) portfolio selection performance on implementation and overall performance; and (4) post‐implementation performance on overall performance. A case study in investment banking is presented to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed model and exhibit the efficacy of the procedures and algorithms.     

The Hierarchical Erosion Effect: A New Perspective on Perceptual Differences and Business Performance

Organizations are coalitions of individuals with heterogeneous interests and perceptions (March and Simon, 1958/1993). We examine an important source of heterogeneity, namely the different perceptions individuals hold across hierarchical levels. We introduce the notion of a hierarchical erosion effect whereby individual perceptions about specific practices become less favourable the lower one goes in the hierarchy. Using data from 4,243 employees across four levels in 38 business units, we provide evidence that this effect exists, controlling for other factors, including the overall favourability of the business unit culture across eight practices. We show how the size of this hierarchical erosion effect varies depending on the nature of the organizational practice being evaluated and the extent to which executives share strategic information widely, and we also show that a lower hierarchical erosion effect is correlated with higher business unit growth. In doing so, we enrich understanding of two aspects of March and Simon's work, their notion of intra‐organizational heterogeneity and their distinctive view of the nature of hierarchy.     

Environmental visibility: a trigger of green organizational response?

This paper develops a typology of visibility in an environmental context. Although visibility has been neglected and ill defined in contemporary environmental management research, environmental visibility can be a useful construct for predicting green organizational response. As such, it might prove a useful tool for environmental management researchers, policy‐makers and business strategists. The paper derives a conceptual typology of visibility from previous organizational theory research. Visibility is considered both as a characteristic of an organization and as a characteristic of an issue, and at both the corporate and operating unit levels. Data collected in a recent series of interviews in 24 business units in UK PLCs are analysed to provide examples of the types of visibility in an environmental context. The resultant environmental visibility typology is used to discuss the relationship between environmental visibility and green organizational responses. This study's findings suggest that considering environmental visibility as a predictor of green organizational response should be fruitful for future empirical research, and useful for policy‐makers and business strategists. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment     

The Role of Perceived Organizational Performance in Organizational Identification,Adjustment and Job Performance*

abstract Favourable organizational status and prestige has a substantial role in shaping constituents' attitudes and actions. The status and prestige of an organization is often a reflection of its achievements or performance. In the present study, we investigate the role of organizational performance or achievement (as assessed by organizational members) in evoking employees' identification, adjustment, and job performance. The results of this study indicate that two forms of organizational performance (labelled as perceived social responsibility and development and perceived market and financial performance) are associated with organizational identification. However, when compared to perceived market and financial performance, perceived social responsibility and development had a larger effect on organizational identification, which in turn resulted in enhanced employees' work outcomes – adjustment and job performance.     

Entrepreneurial alertness and business model innovation: the role of entrepreneurial learning and risk perception

Although business model innovation has received increasing attention in recent years, there are gaps in existing literature concerning why innovation occurs. Drawing on the intentions model and knowledge-based view, this study explores the relationship between entrepreneurial alertness and business model innovation, proposing a moderated mediation framework to handle the questions of why some entrepreneurs achieve business model innovation successfully while others do not. Based on a dataset of 150 firms in northwest China, this study finds that (1) entrepreneurial alertness facilitates business model innovation; (2) explorative learning and exploitative learning mediate the relationship between entrepreneurial alertness and business model innovation; and (3) risk perception moderates the mediating effects of different types of learning and then affects the relationship between entrepreneurial alertness and business model innovation. Specifically, with the increase of risk perception, the mediating role through explorative learning is weakened, while the mediating effect through exploitative learning is enhanced.

     

Modularity in building mass customization capability: The mediating effects of customization knowledge utilization and business process improvement

This study investigates the relationships among product/process modularity, organizational learning practices, and mass customization (MC) capability. Drawing on organizational learning theory, we propose that organizational learning practices help to embed the knowledge gained from modular design practices into organizational processes, enhancing MC capability. We empirically test the mediating effects of two organizational learning practices—customization knowledge utilization and business process improvement—on the relationship between product/process modularity and MC capability, using data collected from Chinese manufacturers. We find strong support for the mediating role of organizational learning practices in the relationship between modularity and MC capability. Our findings have implications for management strategies and point to directions for further research in this area.     

Knowledge Stocks and Information Flows in New Product Development*

Although firms increasingly invest in systems (e.g. ISO, knowledge centres, IT systems) for utilizing stored knowledge and acquiring market information during new product development, few manage to benefit from these investments. To explore this issue, we suggest that firms rely on two distinct types of knowledge stocks– procedural and declarative memory – that affect new product short‐term financial performance and creativity in distinct ways. Additionally, we suggest that internal or external information flows can have distinct moderating impact on the memory types–product outcomes relationship. Our empirical study of product development activities indicates that there is an inverted U‐shaped relationship between procedural memory and product outcomes as well as a positive relationship between declarative memory and financial performance. Also procedural and declarative memory may work in a complementary fashion enhancing both outcomes. Finally, procedural memory is found to reduce the value of internal or external information flows for product creativity. These findings have important implications for the organizational knowledge, capabilities, and product development literatures as well as for practice and they open ways for future research.     

Transnational HR network learning in Korean business groups and the performance of their subsidiaries

This study explores (1) how two distinct dimensions of transnational human resources (HR) network learning, i.e. globally linked and locally leveraged learning, are related to the performance of the foreign subsidiaries of Korean business groups (chaebols) and (2) how strategic HR learning mediates the relationship between these two dimensions of transnational HR network learning and the performance of foreign subsidiaries. We propose that each dimension of transnational HR network learning is related independently and jointly to the performance of a chaebol's foreign subsidiaries. Our results suggest that locally leveraged HR learning has a stronger relationship with the performance of sales subsidiaries, whereas globally linked HR learning has a stronger relationship with the performance of manufacturing subsidiaries. In addition, we find that the interaction between the two dimensions of transnational HR network learning has a weaker positive relationship with the performance of foreign manufacturing subsidiaries than that of foreign sales subsidiaries.     

Learning and relationship orientation: an empirical examination in European museums

• The purpose of this paper is to assess the interrelations between learning orientation, innovation strategy, relationship orientation and economic and social performance in the management of cultural organizations such as museums. We first provide a review of the literature addressing the main constructs involved in the research: learning orientation, innovation, relationship orientation and performance, and we detail the model's hypotheses reflecting the interrelations amongst the proposed variables. Building on extensive literature, a model is developed and empirically tested using survey data collected from 491 European museums in Spain, France, Italy and the UK. Data are analysed through structural equation modelling. In the present study, evidence is found to support the positive and significant link between learning orientation and internal (organizational innovation) as well as external (relationship orientation) changes in museums. Further, we find that organizational innovation and relationship orientation aid the introduction of greater technological developments in these organizations. We also find evidence to support the idea that learning orientation, innovation strategy and relationship orientation impact the economic and social performance of museums. Findings clearly show that achieving organizational objectives through learning processes necessarily entails the introduction of internal changes—innovation—and external relationships—relationship orientation.

Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Policy instruments for sustainability‐oriented organizational learning

The concept of sustainable development implies the need for organizational learning in business corporations to find innovative solutions. In this context, the paper analyzes the requirements and options for environmental policy to induce sustainability‐related learning processes in corporations. It discusses the impacts of different policy instruments on these processes. Initially, the particular challenges of organizational learning for sustainability are being sketched out. Drawing on organizational learning studies, a subsequent section of the paper addresses fundamental elements and drivers for organizational learning processes on different levels in business corporations. The particular nodes where public policy can influence corporate learning processes are the central focus of these considerations. On this basis, we examine existing policy instruments frequently used in environmental policy with regard to their potential to foster learning processes towards sustainability. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

Exploration and exploitation revisited: Extending March's model of mutual learning

A system of actors, appropriately organized, is able to learn even in situations where individuals in isolation cannot. This was one of the most important, though seldom emphasized, insights of March's paper [March, J. G. (1991). Exploration and exploitation in organizational learning. Organization Science, 2(1), 71–87]. The present paper builds on March's original simulation and incorporates a number of different real-world organizational features. The results suggest that unconstrained experimentation is of great benefit to organizational learning, although it should not be carried to excess. Low levels of turnover in personnel are beneficial and mitigate the problem of high socialization March noted in 1991. Inclusion in the policy-making elite should be predicated on performance rather than seniority and on shorter rather than longer individual performance histories, particularly when environments are changing rapidly. Finally, erring on the side of stringency in selecting members of the organization for the policy-making elite is better than erring toward laxity.     

Why Do I Feel Valued and Why Do I Contribute? A Relational Approach to Employee's Organization‐Based Self‐Esteem and Job Performance

Drawing on the relational perspective and self‐consistency theory, we theorize how relationships involving work‐centric, off‐work‐centric, and/or personal components can affect an employee's organization‐based self‐esteem and job performance in Chinese organizational contexts. Matched data were collected from a multi‐source sample that included 219 employee–supervisor dyads from a Chinese bank. Results based on hierarchical regression analyses reveal that a high‐quality relationship with a supervisor through work and off‐work domains (leader–member exchange and guanxi) is positively related to organization‐based self‐esteem. Organization‐based self‐esteem plays a mediating role in the relationship between guanxi and job performance. Additionally, career mentoring from a supervisor (a work‐centric relationship involving personal components) moderates the relationship between organization‐based self‐esteem and job performance.     

Firms’ Response to Climate Change: The Interplay of Business Uncertainty and Organizational Capabilities

With climate change emerging as one of the most important issues increasing uncertainty in the business circle, firms have shown different reactions. Why do firms differ in adopting and implementing carbon management practices (CMPs) in response to the global warming issue? This paper attempts to explore this question with particular attention to two factors: external business uncertainty and internal organizational capabilities. This study investigated whether business uncertainty, organizational learning and lean production capabilities influenced the adoption and implementation of CMPs as well as examining how organizational capabilities moderate the relationships between business uncertainty and the level of CMPs. The results of a cross‐sectional survey and hierarchical regression analyses indicate that perceived business uncertainty decreases the adoption of CMPs, organizational learning and lean production capabilities strongly facilitate the adoption and implementation of CMPs, and lean production capability positively moderates the impacts of business uncertainty on the adoption of CMPs. This study provides guidance for managers and academics considering how to identify, design and manage the dimensions of a firm's practices in response to the global warming issue within the organization as well as with other organizations. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment     

How Do Alphas and Betas Move? Uncertainty,Learning and Time Variation in Risk Loadings*

I employ a parsimonious model with learning, but without conditioning information, to extract time‐varying measures of market‐risk sensitivities, pricing errors and pricing uncertainty. The evolution of these quantities has interesting implications for macroeconomic dynamics. Parameters estimated for US equity portfolios display significant low‐frequency fluctuations, along patterns that change across size and book‐to‐market stocks. Time‐varying betas display superior predictive accuracy for returns against constant and rolling‐window OLS estimates. As to the relationship of betas with business‐cycle variables, value stocks’ betas move pro‐cyclically, unlike those of growth stocks. Investment growth, rather than consumption, predicts the betas of value and small‐firm portfolios.     

Do Opportunities for Formal Learning Stimulate Follow‐Up Participation in Informal Learning? A Three‐Wave Study

Informal learning is an important source of employee adaptability and expertise, yet it is unclear how it may be encouraged through human resource management (HRM) practices. In this study, we investigate how opportunities for formal learning may be used to stimulate short‐ and long‐term participation in informal learning. In addition, we examine whether HRM system strength intensifies the relationship between opportunities for formal learning and informal learning. Using a sample of 430 respondents in 52 teams within six Dutch vocational and educational training schools, we adopt a longitudinal design to examine two types of autonomous informal learning activities (reflection and keeping up to date), and three collaborative activities (asking for feedback, knowledge sharing and innovative behavior) over two years. Opportunity for formal learning was positively related to short‐ and long‐term participation in informal learning activities, with the exception of long‐term innovation. Moreover, HRM system strength intensified these relationships. Managerial implications of these findings for encouraging informal learning activities at work are discussed. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Team autonomy,organizational commitment and company performance – a study in the retail trade

The study focuses on the relationship between perceived team autonomy and company performance through highlighting organizational commitment as a mediating factor in this relationship. Data collected in 2007 came from 25 small-sized companies in the retail trade, covering both the employer and employee levels (n = 369). This study aims to shed light on the following questions: first, is team autonomy associated with organizational commitment and company performance? Second, does commitment mediate the relationship between team autonomy and company performance? Results indicated that team autonomy was both directly and indirectly positively associated with company performance. Furthermore, organizational commitment partially mediated the relationship between team autonomy and company performance. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.     

How do leaders' perceptions of organizational health climate shape employee exhaustion and engagement? Toward a cascading-effects model

Although researchers and practitioners increasingly focus on health promotion in organizations, research has been mainly fragmented and fails to integrate different organizational levels in terms of their effects on employee health. Drawing on organizational climate and social identity research, we present a cascading model of organizational health climate and demonstrate how and when leaders' perceptions of organizational health climate are linked to employee well-being. We tested our model in two multisource studies (N_{Study 1} = 65 leaders and 291 employees; N_{Study 2} = 401 leader–employee dyads). Results showed that leaders' perceptions of organizational health climate were positively related to their health mindsets (i.e., their health awareness). These in turn were positively associated with their health-promoting leadership behavior, which ultimately went along with better employee well-being. Additionally, in Study 1, the relationship between perceived organizational health climate and leaders' health mindsets was moderated by their organizational identification. High leader identification strengthened the relationship between perceived organizational health climate and leaders' health mindsets. These findings have important implications for theory and practice as they show how the dynamics of an organizational health climate can unfold in organizations and how it is related to employee well-being via the novel concept of health-promoting leadership.     

Perceived human resource system strength and employee reactions toward change: Revisiting human resource's remit as change agent

Although scholars have highlighted human resource's (HR's) important role as a change agent, we know little about the extent to which HR influences the change context to foster positive employee responses and support organizational changes. This study positions perceived HR system strength as an important internal context factor that influences employees' reactions toward change. Drawing on emotion theory and social exchange theory, we analyze the mechanisms through which employees' perceptions of HR system strength lead to positive employee responses to organizational change. Data from 704 employees in a UK police force showed that employees' perceptions of HR system strength were positively related to their ability to cope with organizational change and that this relationship was simultaneously mediated by state positive affect and perceived organizational support. Moreover, our findings demonstrated that coping with organizational change was positively related to employees' change‐supportive behavior. This study is important because it broadens the remit of HR's role as change agent and provides valuable insight into how HR positively influences employee outcomes during organizational change.     

Understanding the Change–Cynicism Cycle: The Role of HR

Employee change cynicism is an unintended consequence of organizational change, which can undermine the effectiveness of change initiatives. Based on social information processing theory, we examine the impact of two human resource roles (administrative expert and strategic change agent) on the relationship between the quantity of organizational change and employee change cynicism. Using multilevel data from 1,831 employees in 70 organizations, we find employees who are exposed to more organizational change report higher levels of change cynicism. However, the strength of the organizational change–cynicism relationship is affected by the role of HR in the employees’ organizations. When HR undertakes an administrative expert role, change is more likely to generate change cynicism. When HR undertakes a strategic change agent role, change is less likely to generate change cynicism. Our results suggest that organizations need to think carefully about the role of HR during organizational change and encourage HR to adopt a strategic change agent role. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.