Employability and innovative work behaviour in small and medium-sized enterprises

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to cross-validate HRM measurement instruments for employability (individual competence-based approach) and innovative work behaviour within the context of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) further. The sample consisted of 487 pairs of employees and their immediate supervisors who work in 151 SMEs. A multitrait-multimethod analysis was performed, and the results suggest that for both instruments, requirements regarding convergent and divergent validity have been met satisfactorily. Structural Equation Modeling was performed in order to confirm the factor structure of the instruments. Paired-samples comparisons showed that all of the inter-method correlations for the two-source (employee and immediate supervisor) ratings and for both instruments were significantly positive. As for the final part of the cross-validation, multiple regression analyses were performed to demonstrate predictive validity. Depending on the stage of innovative work behaviour, different dimensions of employability appeared to play a significant role, although the effect did not always veer towards the direction expected. Investing in employability enhancement appeared to contribute to innovative work behaviour. The measurement instruments of employability and innovative work behaviour can provide SME managers with effective instruments to be used for performance appraisals, assessments, and employee development tools.     

The Environment as Stakeholder

Because they have no voice, the environment and future generations are all too often ignored in decision-making, both at the macroeconomic level and in the firm. This article makes the case for explicit recognition of these interests as stakeholders. At the level of the firm this might be done through the appointment of a non-executive "Environment Director" with specific responsibility.     

A process (re)turn?: Path dependencies,institutions and performance management in Swedish central government

Recent central government reforms have signalled a transition away from output-based governance and control to a more citizen-orientated and outcome-focused performance management ethos. Prior research suggests that this may give rise to institutional inconsistencies related to conflicting performance management logics. In this paper, we argue that rather than resulting in growing pre-occupation with outcomes and effectiveness, the emerging reform agenda may somewhat paradoxically reinforce managerial concerns with the operating processes underpinning public service delivery. Drawing on policy studies and management accounting research informed by new institutional sociology, we theorise these developments by invoking the notion of path dependency. We provide an empirical illustration based on field work in Swedish central government and adopt a multi-level approach in examining the evolution of performance management practices. While evidence of strongly constraining path dependencies is found at the overall policy level a case study in the Swedish Tax Agency shows that these may also embody an element of flexibility such that the meaning of inconsistent performance management logics is re-constructed over time. This illustrates how individual government agencies may link outcomes to operating process concerns and manage implementation problems related to conflicting and uncoordinated reform initiatives.     

The extent of excessive or insufficient fundraising among US arts organizations and the effect of organizational efficiency on donations to US arts organizations

• We estimate, for each nonprofit organization (NPO) in a sample of 606 US arts NPOs, whether the NPO's level of fundraising is ‘excessive,’ ‘insufficient,’ or neither, relative to the level that maximizes net donations. We find that the effect of a 1% increase in fundraising on net donations varies widely across the arts NPOs in our sample—from an increase in net donations of 8.91% of gross donations to a decrease of 3.82% of gross donations. Of the 100 NPOs in our sample with the highest donations, the estimated effect of a 1% increase in fundraising on net donations varies more narrowly—from an increase in net donations of 0.27% of gross donations to a decrease of 0.32% of gross donations. Of these 100 NPOs, we estimate that only 3 engaged in ‘excessive’ fundraising, but 83 engaged in ‘insufficient’ fundraising, and 14 did not engage in ‘excessive’ or ‘insufficient’ fundraising.We also provide evidence that reported organizational efficiency does not affect donations to arts NPOs. This finding may be useful to managers and directors of US arts NPOs who believe that organizational efficiency does impact donations and who, therefore, incorporate the effect on efficiency in their decisions to allocate resources across fundraising, administration, and program objectives.

Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sovereign Debt Crises in Latin America: A Market Pressure Approach

ABSTRACT

We construct a continuous sovereign debt crisis index for four large Latin American countries for the period 1870?2012. To obtain the optimal set of indicators and the optimal value of the threshold for dating crises we apply the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Our sovereign debt crisis index is a weighted average of three indicators: the debt-to-GDP ratio, the external interest rate spread, and the exports-to-imports ratio. The continuous index allows a more advanced analysis of sovereign debt crises as illustrated with an investigation of the relationship between sovereign debt crises and business cycles in Latin America.     

Jump robust two time scale covariance estimation and realized volatility budgets

We estimate the daily integrated variance and covariance of stock returns using high-frequency data in the presence of jumps, market microstructure noise and non-synchronous trading. For this we propose jump robust two time scale (co)variance estimators and verify their reduced bias and mean square error in simulation studies. We use these estimators to construct the ex-post portfolio realized volatility (RV) budget, determining each portfolio component’s contribution to the RV of the portfolio return. These RV budgets provide insight into the risk concentration of a portfolio. Furthermore, the RV budgets can be directly used in a portfolio strategy, called the equal-risk-contribution allocation strategy. This yields both a higher average return and lower standard deviation out-of-sample than the equal-weight portfolio for the stocks in the Dow Jones Industrial Average over the period October 2007–May 2009.     

Implementation of the forest expansion policy in the Netherlands in the period 1986–2007: Decline in success?

The current study explains why Dutch forest expansion policy is at risk of failure. To study the forest expansion implementation process we have chosen to further operationalize Matland's policy type implementation model to an extended and comprehensive typology of relevant implementation characteristics. In addition, a case study methodology with mixed-method design was used to collect and analyze the data. The Dutch forest expansion policy is currently an example of symbolic implementation. The symbolic implementation is a consequence of the absence of central guidance, the legislative complexity, the low policy stability, the lack of supporting conditions for policy innovation, the lack of regulatory responsiveness and the latent policy at state level and in many provinces. Nevertheless, the transferable development rights method of the province of Limburg is a promising innovation and forest expansion still happens, which is mainly the result of a good internal and external communication, an effective actor network of forest expansion advocates and the willingness to realize negotiated project aims that lead to a win–win situation for all actors involved. Nonetheless, it is expected that the forest expansion targets will be not reached, unless most of the above shortcomings are solved.     

Human capital and optimal positive taxation of capital income

This paper analyzes optimal linear and non-linear taxes on capital and labor incomes in a life-cycle model of human capital investment, financial savings, and labor supply with heterogenous individuals. A dual income tax with a positive marginal tax rate on not only labor income but also capital income is optimal. The positive tax on capital income serves to alleviate the distortions of the labor tax on human capital accumulation. The optimal marginal tax rate on capital income is lower than that on labor income if savings are elastic compared to investment in human capital, substitution between verifiable and non-verifiable inputs in human capital formation is difficult, and most investments in human capital are verifiable so that education subsidies can directly reduce the tax wedge on learning. Numerical calculations suggest that the optimal marginal tax rate on capital income is substantial.