Downsizing and the fragility of corporate reputation: An analysis of the impact of contextual factors

This study extends prior research on the impact of downsizing on corporate reputation by investigating how specific aspects of downsizing measures influence this relationship. Using panel data on the S&P 100 companies for the period 1990–2000, we find that downsizing affects corporate reputation negatively and that the size of the effect depends on the content and the context of the downsizing announcement. More specifically, we find that the motive for downsizing, the time period in which it is announced as well as the extent of previous layoffs significantly influence the reputational penalties that are associated with corporate downsizing. Our results thus elucidate how contextual factors of a downsizing decision can influence the extent of the reputational damage of this measure.     

A contextual understanding of projects—The importance of space and time

This article analyzes the managing of high-tech projects in complex and dynamic settings. Building on recent developments in organization theory and knowledge management, we focus on the importance of understanding the ways in which project-centered activities are shaped in time and space, both in the organization itself and in a wider context embracing customers, consultants and suppliers. A longitudinal case study including semi-structured interviews, observations and secondary data will substantiate our findings. The study offers both theoretical and practical insights suggesting that projects are exposed to a varying degree of complexity and dynamics, calling for different managerial approaches. The analysis shows that boundary spanning has many dimensions that have to be considered in the management of projects in space and time. The article concludes by suggesting seven analytical categories for analyzing and understanding projects in their spatial and temporal contexts.     

The impact of contextual factors on the efficacy of ISO 9000 adoption

This study investigates the importance of contextual factors on the efficacy of ISO 9000 adoption. We explore the role of various contextual factors at the firm-level (i.e., technology intensity, labor productivity, and labor intensity) and industry-level (i.e., industry efficiency level, industry competitiveness, industry sales growth, and industry ISO 9000 adoption level) that potentially impact the efficacy of ISO 9000 adoption. We carry out a hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) analysis based on objective financial data from 438 U.S. manufacturing firms. The results show that firms with low technology intensity, low labor productivity and high labor intensity reap more benefit from ISO 9000 adoption. Firms in industries with low efficiency levels, high competition, high sales growth and low ISO 9000 adoption levels also obtain more benefit from the adoption. Our research provides supporting evidence for the context-dependent proposition of ISO 9000 adoption. Given the significant costs and resources involved, it is crucial for operations managers to assess to what extent ISO 9000 might benefit their performance before embarking on the implementation process.     

Trainees' reactions to training: an analysis of the factors affecting overall satisfaction with training

The study examines a relatively neglected, but important, aspect of the analysis and evaluation of training, namely trainees' immediate reaction to training. In particular, we focused on an analysis of the factors that affect participants' overall satisfaction with training. We first identified three key situational antecedents of training satisfaction, including trainees' perceptions of the efficiency and usefulness of the training, and their perceptions of trainer performance. Specific hypotheses relating each of these factors to training satisfaction were then developed and tested using data from a sample of about 3000 trainees from a range of Italian companies participating in a large-scale regionally-funded training programme involving over 300 different training courses. The results revealed that, although all three hypothesised antecedents were significantly positively related to training satisfaction, the perceived usefulness of training had the strongest effect. Importantly, the results also suggest the lack of any clear compensatory effects of the three antecedents on training satisfaction. Theoretical and policy implications of the findings are discussed.     

The moderating role of contextual factors on quality management practices

This study investigates how contextual factors influence the relationship between Quality Management (QM) practices and manufacturing performance. It contributes to the contingency theory of QM effectiveness. Drawing on the management literature, we differentiate two different groups of QM practices: Quality Exploitation and Quality Exploration. The analysis empirically investigates the internal fit with organizational structure and the external fit with environmental uncertainty on the relationship between Quality Exploration, Quality Exploitation, and operational performance. The data comes from a survey of 238 manufacturing plants in three industries across eight countries. Regression analyses show that both internal fit with the organizational structure and external fit with the environment affect performance. The findings also provide insights for managers on how to customize QM programs to achieve optimal performance benefits. In stable environments Quality Exploitation practices provide the best performance outcomes, while in a dynamic environment Quality Exploration practices with an organic organizational structure give the best results.     

Resource link: Re-establishing the employment relationship in an era of downsizing

This article examines AT&T's efforts to deal with force management issues by developing Resource Link^sm, an internal service unit that uses payroll management employees to help meet the variable work force needs of AT&T. Resource Link is discussed in terms of its contributions to increasing employment stability, improved learning, better governance, and helping to renew the psychological contract between employees and employers. The paper calls for future research in four major areas: skills development, teamwork, reward systems, and career management. It also addresses the potential applicability of this type of program to other firms. © 1995 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Partnering to create IT-based value: A contextual ambidexterity approach

Going beyond the boundary of the firm and traditional notions of how IT contributes to value creation, scholars have started to investigate under what conditions, in what ways, and with which results firms can co-create IT-based value. However, we lack comprehensive insights into how firms can develop such collaborative partnerships and the types of value they create at different stages of the process. Using a qualitative case study, we analyze in detail how a mining company, a manufacturer of mining machinery, and an IT provider developed a joint venture over a ten-year period. Drawing on ambidexterity theory, we show how the three firms successfully built a context that encouraged alignment of interests and allowed the participants to adapt to emerging conditions as they collaborated to create IT-based value. Moreover, we uncover the different types of value they created over the various stages of developing the collaboration. As a result, we contribute to the literature on IT-based value co-creation with insights into how inter-firm collaboration can be developed to create different types of IT-based value. In addition, we advance contextual ambidexterity theory by demonstrating how it applies to developing new partnerships between firms.     

Increasing the capacity of conceptual diagrams to embrace contextual complexity

Conceptual models or diagrams have been used for many years to visually convey information, and they represent a subset of graphic presentation more generally. Historically, they have been used to describe, interpret and explain relationships among concepts deemed relevant to the understanding of some phenomena. This paper makes specific recommendations for increasing the capacity of models to clearly convey a particular form of complexity, that involving multiple contexts or levels of analysis. In particular, the inclusion of negotiated or constructed contexts as contexts, the use of small multiples to create a dialog with orienting models around specification decisions, and the representation of alternate scenarios are recommended.     

Identifying contextual effective factors on total fertility rate decline in Iran: a qualitative framework-based study

This study was conducted to explain the contextual factors associated with total fertility rate (TFR) decline to help policymakers. A qualitative approach and Leichter contextual analysis framework were applied to conduct this study. The participants were selected using purposive sampling method, and also the interviews continued until data saturation was reached. Individuals with knowledge and perspectives on population policies were included in the study to improve the research credibility. The data validity was achieved by applying the maximum variety in selecting the sample. The results were classified into four groups, including situational, structural, cultural, and environmental factors. Situational factors included political sanctions, drought, and road accidents. Structural factors involved government policies, the absence of monitoring, paying no attention to the required conditions, housing status, employment status, economic status, and other issues. Cultural factors were classified into the seven categories, including divorce, socio-economic development, women's employment, marriage age, urbanization, and other issues and factors included international treaties, and the western influence. Policymakers and administrators in the field of demographic policies can make more accurate strategies to increase TFR by recognizing the causes that reduce fertility with the help of providing the possibility to understand better the factors affecting the TFR decline.

     

Response to haar's comment— and the beat goes on: Corporate downsizing in the twenty‐first century

Corporate downsizing continues to be a major strategy used by organizations to cope with a dynamic and turbulent global marketplace. A fundamental assumption made by executives is that this strategy improves the financial health of the corporation. De Meuse, Vanderheiden, and Bergmann (1994) examined several indices of financial performance over a five‐year period and found that firms employing downsizing experienced a deterioration in financial performance rather than an improvement. Haar (1999) questioned the findings of this study, asserting that if a company's risk level would have been included in the analysis, their results could have been different. In the present investigation, risk was incorporated in the original analysis. Again, the findings strongly indicate that downsizing was not an effective corporate strategy for enhancing the financial performance of corporations. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Ambidextrous culture,contextual ambidexterity and new product innovations: The role of organizational slack and environmental factors

Contextual ambidexterity, defined as the simultaneous pursuit of alignment and adaptability at business unit, is linked to several organizational outcomes including improved performance and innovation outcomes. Extant research posits ambidextrous organizational culture as an important enabler to contextual ambidexterity but suffers from a lack of a well‐meaning scale for the same. In addition, there is very little understanding as to how tasking and facilitating environment can be on firms' endeavour for contextual ambidexterity and the outcomes thereof. Therefore, the current piece of research has twin objectives using two separate studies. First, to develop a scale for ambidextrous organizational culture construct and second, to analyse the role played by the external forces (munificence and dynamism) and internal slack resources on the relationships between ambidextrous organizational culture and contextual ambidexterity and between contextual ambidexterity and new product innovation outcomes through an empirical investigation in India. Using structural equation modelling on data from 414 respondents, we found environmental munificence to strengthen the relationships between ambidextrous organizational culture and contextual ambidexterity and between contextual ambidexterity and new product innovation outcomes. On the other hand, environmental dynamism had a dampening impact on these relationships. Our findings also suggest that for low slack organizations, dynamic and unmunificent environments magnified the negative impact on an organisation's ambidexterity efforts and new product innovation outcomes.     

Acceptance of buyout offers in the face of downsizing: empirical evidence from the Korean electronics industry

Using a sample of 812 employees in a major Korean electronics company, this study examines the predictors of acceptance of buyout incentives. As in the retirement research, the results here suggest that employees are more likely to accept buyouts the larger the size of the incentive, the older they are at the time of the offer and the poorer their health. However, in contrast to early retirement research, the results here suggest that it is the better performers, those whose spouses are still in the workforce and those who have already declined previous incentives who are most likely to accept buyout incentives in early and mid-career. This study also highlights five differences between American-based and Korean-based firms in their use of early buyout offers. Korean employees were more likely to accept buyout offers the higher their salary, while in the US salary and acceptance of such offers are typically inversely related. Also, while US firms focus on buyout incentives for older workers, Korean firms will often target workers in their thirties and forties. Korean firms typically offer one-time, lump-sum bonuses as departure incentives, whereas American firms are more likely to add years of age and/or service in calculating pension benefits. While US firms often offer some type of part-time employment contract to their early retirees, Korean firms often prohibit this arrangement. Finally, compared to the US, the greater stigma associated with interfirm mobility in Korea cuts against the acceptances of these offers.     

要重视HHT的应用——访深圳方正颐和科技有限公司营销总监曾辉军

"随着快递行业的迅速发展,快递企业间的竞争日趋激烈.手持数据采集终端(HHT:Hand-Held Terminal,俗称"工业PDA"或"移动手持式计算机")的使用逐渐成为快递企业提高服务水平和竞争力重要工具.快递企业应该把数据采集产品的应用摆在重要位置了."深圳方正颐和科技有限公司营销总监曾辉军这样认为.     

Identification and estimation of econometric models with group interactions,contextual factors and fixed effects

This paper considers identification and estimation of structural interaction effects in a social interaction model. The model allows unobservables in the group structure, which may be correlated with included regressors. We show that both the endogenous and exogenous interaction effects can be identified if there are sufficient variations in group sizes. We consider the estimation of the model by the conditional maximum likelihood and instrumental variables methods. For the case with large group sizes, the possible identification can be weak in the sense that the estimates converge in distribution at low rates.     

Balancing tensions: Buffering the impact of organisational restructuring and downsizing on employee well‐being

This study examines the impact of employee experiences of restructuring and downsizing on well‐being. The job demands‐resources model was used to develop hypotheses related to job demands in the form of work intensity and job resources in the form of consultation. The job demands‐resources model allows for direct incorporation of employee perceptions and does not assume a singular, predetermined consequence of HRM practices. Hypotheses were tested via structural equation modelling on a nationally representative sample of over 5,110 employees from the Republic of Ireland in 2009. The findings indicate that work intensity serves as a conduit through which experiences of restructuring and downsizing negatively impact employee well‐being. Notably, consultation served as a buffer, diminishing the extent of this negative experience. The findings illuminate the complex pathways that shape how restructuring and downsizing are perceived by employees and the consequences for well‐being. We discuss the theoretical and managerial implications of these findings.     

The impact of motivation,intention, and contextual factors on green purchasing behavior: New energy vehicles as an example

Green purchasing behavior is of great significance to the realization of carbon reduction goals. Through in-depth interviews, this study uses new energy vehicles to explore the driving factors of green purchase. It applies grounded theory for a qualitative analysis, the results of which show that behavior motivation, behavior intentions, residential characteristics, social norms, behavior ability, and institutional and technological context are the main factors of green purchase, albeit in inconsistent ways. It is found that behavior motivation indirectly affects green purchase through behavior intention; residents' characteristics, behavioral ability, social norms, and the institutional and technological context have moderating effects on the relationship between behavior intention and green purchase, indicating the existence of an “intention–behavior” gap. The study proposes the comprehensive model of Motivation–Intention–Context–Behavior to explain the driving factors for green purchase and provides policy implications on marketing strategy to companies producing green products.     

An empirical test of stakeholder influence strategy models: evidence from business downsizing in Taiwan

Frooman's model of stakeholder influence strategies uses levels of resource dependence to determine the power of stakeholder influence. Our study provides initial empirical tests of his model applied in business downsizing. Data from 18 recently downsized firms in Taiwan, including nine multinational corporations (MNCs), were plotted against the Frooman model. We found that resource-dependence alone as Frooman theorized could not explain the influence strategies that stakeholders (in this case the employees) took in response to firms' downsizing decisions. Further investigation revealed that the institutional factors had a significant effect on how firms structured their downsizing initiatives and hence changed the way the employees reacted to firm decisions. We proposed a new model using both resource-dependence and institutional legitimacy as determinants of stakeholder influence strategy and suggested relationships between these determinants and stakeholder actions. This proposed model has profound research implications for the strategic stakeholder theory, as well as practical implications for human resource management.     

Employee commitment to the organization and customer reactions: mapping the linkages

Although it has been claimed that the attitudes that employees have toward their work influence how customers react to the organization, its service and products, relatively little empirical research has examined these possible linkages. The focus in this article is on the relations between organizational commitment and customer reactions (e.g., customer satisfaction, repeat purchase behavior). Specifically, we review relevant theory and research, discuss methodological issues associated with examining this issue, and make recommendations for both researchers and human resource (HR) practitioners interested in mapping linkages between organizational commitment and customer reactions.     

Building communities of philanthropy in higher education: contextual influences

In this era of constrained and declining economic resources, institutions of higher education are turning to advancement professionals to identify and cultivate the financial resources that are becoming an increasing and larger portion of the fundamental funding of the institution. In this high stakes arena, advancement professionals have a need for the tools that can assist them in cultivating philanthropic relationships more effectively and efficiently. To that purpose, this research empirically explores ways in which the brand community construct can be adapted to philanthropic intent for non‐profit organizations to aid in the cultivation process. This paper presents the results of a survey of college alumni drawn from a commercially provided online panel, and examines the potential impact that institutional size may have upon the relationships of an alumni brand community and the community's expressed willingness to offer financial donations to the alma mater. From a theoretic perspective, this paper reveals that brand community is a significant contributor to this expression of philanthropic intent across universities of differing size. As a practical consideration, our findings produce additional evidence to affirm the notion that brand community is a robust construct that can be of value to development professionals who seek to build financial support for both small and large universities. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

重视企业法律文化建设

2004年10月,深圳美芝海燕电子来料加工厂发生一起劳资纠纷激化事件.事后,深圳市劳动和社会保障局对该厂调查认定了五项严重侵害劳动者权益的违法问题:一是2608名员工工资低于最低工资标准,低于标准部分金额达到32万余元二是1973名员工劳动超过法定时间,每月加班超过36小时部分累计达到6万多小时;三是加班工资低于法定的最低标准四是有1338人未办用工手续,累计达6419个月;五是部分员工未按规定办理社会保险.