Change and development in pluralistic settings: an exploration of HR practices in Chinese township and village enterprises

Very few systematic studies have been conducted on the managerial practices of Chinese Township and Village Enterprises (TVEs) despite their increasing contributions to China's economic development. Focusing on the HRM practices in ten different TVE organizations in a new city in Southeastern China, this study aims at filling a gap in the literature by exploring the general HRM practices in those organizations. Results show that HRM practices in TVEs, although still relatively primitive compared to those in state-owned enterprises (SOEs), have been much more formalized recently. Employees are now mostly selected rather than referred by existing employees or ' guanxi ' as they were previously. New employees in many large TVEs are now trained through formal procedures rather than through apprenticeships, and pay is tightly linked to performance and skill levels. However, in smaller TVEs, HR practices are less formalized. The study points out that the firm size may be an institutional factor affecting the implementation of formal HRM practices. Yet, regardless of the form of personnel management, HRM practices are shown to be a very important factor in the economic success of TVE firms. Further studies are necessary to understand HRM and other managerial practices in TVEs and to test the relationships between HRM practices and firm performance among the TVEs.     

The role of productive efficiency on entry and post‐entry performance under different strategic orientation: the case of the Greek plastics and rubber industry

The present study formulates and empirically tests the hypothesis that the post‐entry performance and growth of new firms is affected by the way in which crucial resources are combined during the decision‐making process to enter the industry or not. Further, the study empirically tests the hypothesis that multifaceted productive efficiency influences both the entry decision and the entrants' post‐entry performance. The proposed analytical framework allows for testing these hypotheses under different strategic orientations assumed to be followed by entrants. Results of the estimated partial observability model provide support to these hypotheses in almost all of the examined cases. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Information and communication technology in retailing: A cross-industry comparison

Information technology (IT) may represent a source of competitive advantage for businesses in general and for retailers in particular. However, there is debate in the literature over the usefulness of investing in technology. This paper aims at analyzing the relationship between consumers’ perception on the use of information and communication technology by the retailer and consumer satisfaction with retailer technologies. Results support the need to restrict the investment in IT to what is strictly necessary, although there are significant differences according to retailer activity.     

ICT and resilience in times of crisis: evidence from cross-country micro moments data

ABSTRACT

ICT-intensive firms are often found to have a better performance than their non-ICT-intensive counterparts. Along with investing in ICT capital they have to adapt their production and business processes in order to reap the potentials implied by the use of ICT. Are these firms also more resilient in times of crisis? We study this question by exploiting a novel and unique data set from the Micro Moments Database. Covering 12 countries, 7 industries and the period from 2001 to 2010, the data allow us to distinguish between ICT-intensive and non-ICT-intensive firms within industries. We find evidence that indeed during the crisis in 2008 and 2009, ICT-intensive firms were hit less hard with respect to their productivity. This holds in particular for firms from service industries. Moreover, ICT-intensive firms were also more successful in introducing process innovations during that period which could explain their better productivity performance compared to non-ICT intensive firms.     

High‐performance work systems in Asian companies

High‐performance work systems (HPWSs) have recently attracted considerable interdisciplinary interest in the field of management, industrial relations and economics. There is rising interest in using high‐performance work practices, because evidence showed that organizations that implemented such systems recorded remarkable success, especially in organizations in Western countries. The purpose of the study is to explore the extent to which HPWSs are used in organizations in three selected Asian societies and determine the extent to which HR systems directly enhance performance. Research from organizations in three Asian societies showed mixed results. A strong relationship between HR practices and the outcome measure—i.e., subjective performance ( profitability)—was observed. Managerial implications and future research direction will be discussed. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Reviews

Basic economics. Mackintosh, M., Brown, V., Costello, N., Dawson, G., Thompson, G. and Trigg, A. 1996: ECONOMICS AND CHANGING ECONOMIES. Open University and International Thomson Business Press, £19.99 paper.

Tinkering with equality. Rees, T. 1995: WOMEN AND THE EC TRAINING PROGRAMMES: TINKERING, TAILORING AND TRANSFORMATION. Bristol: SAUS publications, £11.50 paper.

Construction and employment. McGregor, A., Fitzpatrick, I., McConachie, M. and Thorn, G. 1995: BUILDING FUTURES: CAN LOCAL EMPLOYMENT BE CREATED FROM HOUSING EXPENDITURE? Bristol: SAUS Publications, £9.95 paper.

Harrison, M. and Davies, J. 1995: CONSTRUCTING EQUALITY: HOUSING ASSOCIATIONS AND MINORITY ETHNIC CONTRACTORS. Bristol: SAUS Publications, £9.95 paper.

Globalisation and Local Economic Development. Killick, T. (ed) 1995: THE FLEXIBLE ECONOMY: CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES OF THE ADAPTABILITY OF NATIONAL ECONOMIES. London: Routledge/ODI, £16.99 paper.

Michie, J. and Grieve Smith, J. (eds) 1995: MANAGING THE GLOBAL ECONOMY. Oxford: Oxford University Press, £14.95 paper.

City marketing. Neill, W. V., Fitzsimons, D. S. and Murtagh, B. 1995: REIMAGING THE PARIAH CITY: URBAN DEVELOPMENT IN BELFAST AND DETROIT. Aldershot: Avebury, £35.00 cased.

Flexible working. New Ways to Work, 1995: BALANCED LIVES: CHANGING WORK PATTERNS FOR MEN. London: New Ways to Work, £9.95 paper.

Cyberspace utopia? Graham, S. and Marvin, S. 1996: TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND THE CITY: ELECTRONIC SPACES, URBAN PLACES. London: Routledge, £15.99 paper.     

Growing Old in England: Economic and Social Issues

This paper examines the economic and social impact of changes in the duration of working life for the 80 per cent of older adults living in urban England. While some people are experiencing extended retirement because of moving out of paid work in their 50s, a growing minority of those beyond the state retirement age continue in paid employment. This paper highlights the considerable challenges for urban policy makers in addressing the economic and social inclusion of all older adults.     

Market Concentration and Multifaceted Productive Efficiency

Developing the analytical framework of the decision making process of a possible entrant, a reduced form system equations model is estimated in order to examine the market concentration – productive efficiency relationship in an endogeneity context. Technical and scale efficiency estimates are obtained from an inter-industry stochastic production frontier using a panel dataset regarding the seven most energy intensive manufacturing industries in Greece over the period 1980–96. Several new versions of the concentration – efficiency relationship, may be derived from the alternatives of the entrant considering the possible conduct character of incumbents’ technical efficiency and excess capacity, which is depicted on their scale efficiency, on market concentration.     

A GENERAL PROOF OF THE DYBVIG-INGERSOLL-ROSS THEOREM: LONG FORWARD RATES CAN NEVER FALL

A senera1 proof of the Dybvig-Ingersoll-Ross Theorem o n thc monotonicity of long foraard rates is presented. Some inconsistencies in the original proof o f this theorein are discussed.