The role of HR practices in developing employee resilience: a case study from the Pakistani telecommunications sector

Abstract

There has been increasing interest in understanding the factors that contribute to the development of employee resilience. Despite such interest, there is a dearth of research examining the contributory role played by HR practices in enhancing employee resilience. Looking at the context of Pakistan’s telecommunications sector and deploying a qualitative methodology, this paper examines the impact of HR practices on employee resilience. The findings indicate that four key areas of HR practices – job design, information sharing and flow within an organisation, employee benefits (monetary as well as non-monetary), and employee development opportunities – enable the development of employee resilience. Consequently, the effective implementation of HR practices in these areas has been the key factor for the development of employee resilience.     

Are Islamic Banks More Resilient During Financial Panics?

Islamic banking is one of the fastest growing segments of the financial sector in developing countries. Rapid growth of this segment is accompanied with claims about its relative resilience to financial crises as compared to conventional banking. However, little empirical evidence is available to support such claims. Using data from Pakistan, where Islamic and conventional banks co‐exist, we compare the behaviour of Islamic and conventional banks during a financial panic. Our results show that Islamic bank branches are less prone to deposit withdrawals during financial panics, both unconditionally and after controlling for bank characteristics. The Islamic branches of banks that have both Islamic and conventional operations tend to attract (rather than lose) deposits during panics, which suggests a role for religious branding. We also find that Islamic bank branches grant more loans during financial panics and that their lending decisions are less sensitive to changes in deposits. Our findings suggest that greater financial inclusion of faith‐based groups may enhance the stability of the banking system.     

Integrating quality management practices with knowledge creation processes

Several quality thought leaders have considered the role of knowledge in quality management practices. For example, Deming proposed The Deming System of Profound Knowledge™ that dealt explicitly with knowledge. However, various authors in the quality field diverge considerably when contemplating knowledge. We propose an integrated view of quality and knowledge using Nonaka's theory of knowledge creation. This integrated view helps illuminate how quality practices can lead to knowledge creation and retention. The knowledge perspective also provides insight into what it means to effectively deploy quality management practices. Previous empirical research noted the importance of effective deployment, but provided little insight into what effective deployment means. This research argues that quality management practices create knowledge, which leads to organizational performance. Taking a knowledge-based view (KBV) of the firm provides a deeper understanding of why some organizations are more successful at deploying quality management practices than others.     

Economic reform in three giants :

This paper builds on prior scholarly works by examining the relationship between organizing paradox (formalization and decentralization), and organizational levels of learning paradoxes, i.e. exploration and exploitation, and firms’ outcomes (organizational creativity, organizational resilience and organizational energy). Using data from 98 executives and 325 senior employees working across a diverse range of firms operating in the Middle East, the findings suggest that organizing paradox (formalization and decentralization) has a positive impact on learning ambidexterity. In addition, we also found that learning ambidexterity has a positive impact on both organizational resilience and organizational energy. Furthermore, the results indicate that learning ambidexterity mediates the relationship between organizing paradox and organizational creativity. These findings provide important insights into the micro-foundation aspects of organizational ambidexterity.     

Micro-foundations of organizational design and sustainability: The mediating role of learning ambidexterity

This paper builds on prior scholarly works by examining the relationship between organizing paradox (formalization and decentralization), and organizational levels of learning paradoxes, i.e. exploration and exploitation, and firms’ outcomes (organizational creativity, organizational resilience and organizational energy). Using data from 98 executives and 325 senior employees working across a diverse range of firms operating in the Middle East, the findings suggest that organizing paradox (formalization and decentralization) has a positive impact on learning ambidexterity. In addition, we also found that learning ambidexterity has a positive impact on both organizational resilience and organizational energy. Furthermore, the results indicate that learning ambidexterity mediates the relationship between organizing paradox and organizational creativity. These findings provide important insights into the micro-foundation aspects of organizational ambidexterity.     

Covid-19 and heuristic biases: evidence from India

Stock markets worldwide have witnessed high volatility during the year 2020 owing to the eruption of Covid-19. Due to the world’s unprecedented economic challenges, this study could potentially guide financial advisors and individual investors in dealing with pandemics. An association between investors’ perception toward the intensity of Covid-19 and heuristic biases is analyzed using the responses of 290 stock investors of National Capital Region (NCR), India. The data are validated through Cronbach’s alpha, and the model fit is analyzed using EFA. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) is employed to investigate the relationship between Covid-19 and heuristic biases. Covid-19 does not have any influence on the overconfidence of investors. A significant positive relationship is found between Covid-19 and the remaining three heuristics, i.e., availability, anchoring, and representativeness. The present study analyzes the association between Covid-19 and specific investors’ bias only and should not be interpreted for causality. The study has the potential to guide investors in understanding the errors they are making while investing during the pandemic and the ways to deal with them. The study could provide insights to the financial advisors in understanding their customers. The implications of the study may include inputs of the errors committed by them during the pandemic. Despite the fact that an enormous amount of literature exists in the field of investors’ sentiment, a scarcity of literature is available that measures the relationship between heuristic biases and the perceived impact of the pandemic. The current study attempts to fill this gap in the literature.

     

Gravitating toward the quadruple helix: international connections for the enhancement of a regional innovation system in Northeast Italy

The majority of previous Regional Innovation System (RIS) studies generally provide a rather static overview of the roles of innovation-creating actors. This article explores a single RIS in Trentino in Italy. The case shows that the roles of three actors (i.e., the provincial government, academia/research centers, and firms) are vital in creating the RIS, and that the provincial-level government policy is important in supporting the innovation activities of regional research institutions and firms aimed at developing their international connections. The public-private research collaboration and international connections of these actors are the key determinants of the development of an advanced RIS, but have largely been ignored in the extant RIS literature. This article extends the existing RIS and Triple Helix research to an international dimension, highlighting the complementary role of international connections within the RIS, thus reflecting a shift toward Quadruple Helix.     

Post-entry survival of developing economy international new ventures: A dynamic capability perspective

Recent research suggests that the capabilities needed for the survival of international new ventures (INVs) may be at odds with the original aims that had brought them into the international markets. INV mortality is exacerbated by uncertainty and lack of familiarity with the host market environment, which elevates the liabilities of newness, smallness, and foreignness in the initiating companies. We investigate the key factors that determine the post-entry survival of developing economy INVs by analyzing in-depth seven software INVs originating in the developing economy of Pakistan. These INVs survived the 2000 dotcom crisis and the 2008 global financial crisis, and continue to grow. Based on a dynamic capability view on the INVs’ internationalization and survival from sensing-seizing-reconfiguration angles, we find the founders’ entrepreneurial orientations and network development capabilities (sensing), specialized product focus and niche market development (seizing), and transformation and renewal capabilities (reconfiguration) are the key capabilities that enhance the post-entry survival of these INVs. Importantly, we find that a stable leadership and the post-entry international experience of the leadership team continuously feed into facilitating the creation and maintenance of dynamic capabilities. This paper identifies key strategic aspects that determine the post-entry survival of the developing economy INVs.     

Top management team’s formal network and international expansion of Chinese firms: The moderating role of state ownership and political ties

This article explores the role of the formal network centrality of top management teams (TMT) for foreign expansion, looking at the case of Chinese firms. The former is defined by the degree to which top managers are connected with TMTs of other firms in formal ways, through service as independent board members. We explore boundary conditions, comparing state ownership with political ties. The analysis of a panel data of 489 firms expanding to 72 developed and developing host markets in the period 2000–2012 confirms that network centrality facilitates internationalization. We found that TMT network centrality had a stronger effect on internationalization in developed than emerging markets. Conversely, state ownership had a positive moderating effect in the latter and political ties a negative effect in developed ones. The literature on comparative institutional analysis suggests that formal ties are more important in developed economies, and informal ties in emerging ones. However, formal political ties and/or links to the Chinese state may be more of value in internationalizing into other emerging markets, where the balance of diplomatic power may be more skewed in China’s favor.     

Determinants of alliance partner choice: Network distance,managerial incentives,and board monitoring

Research Summary: We ask if managerial opportunism is a significant problem in alliance partner choice and examine the role of corporate governance mechanisms in explaining this choice. Using a sample of 313 alliances of U.S. firms from the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries from 1992 to 2010, we find that managerial incentives lead to managerial preference for relationally risky distant partners over existing and new close partners. Further, board monitoring encourages managers to pursue existing and distant partners over new close ones, choices aligned with shareholder interests. In addition, we find that board monitoring substitutes for managerial incentives in alliance partner choice. We contribute to the literature on alliance partner choice to identify an important, and hitherto, unexplored perspective. Managerial Summary: This article examines whether managers and shareholders view alliance‐related risks differently, and how the divergent interests between managers and shareholders affect alliance partner choice. We argue that managers’ concern about their loss of employment and compensation from alliance failure impedes the choice of relationally risky alliance partners that may increase shareholder value. We also argue that managerial stock ownership and board monitoring mitigate this managerial propensity. Our findings suggest that stock ownership owned by managers and strong board monitoring are effective governance mechanisms to align managers’ interests with those of shareholders. Our study offers a novel perspective to understand alliance partner choice by viewing the firm as an entity comprised of fragmented interests.