Strategic HRM as process: how HR system and organizational climate strength influence Chinese employee attitudes

In contrast to the high-performance work systems literature that focuses on HR practices, we follow Bowen and Ostroff in examining human resource management (HRM) processes, specifically the strength of an HR system (its distinctiveness, consistency, and consensus) and its contribution to the organizational climate (employees' shared perceptions of the HR system). Based on 810 employees within 64 units in three Chinese hotels, we examine how employee perceptions of HRM system strength and organizational climate are associated with employees' work satisfaction, vigor, and intention to quit. The distinctiveness of an HRM system was found to be related to the three employee work attitudes, and high climate strength increases both the positive relationship between consensus and work satisfaction, and the negative relationship between consensus and intention to quit. We draw on aspects of Chinese society to interpret these findings. Several important research and HR practice implications are highlighted and discussed.     

What Drives Marginal Abatement Costs of Greenhouse Gases on Dairy Farms? A Meta‐modelling Approach

This paper examines the relationships between the marginal abatement costs (MAC) of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions on dairy farms and factors such as herd size, milk yield and available farm labour, on the one hand, and prices, GHG indicators and GHG reduction levels, on the other. A two‐stage Heckman procedure is used to estimate these relationships from a systematically designed set of simulations with a highly detailed mixed integer bio‐economic farm‐level model. The resulting meta‐models are then used to analyse how MAC vary across farm‐level conditions and GHG measures. We find that simpler GHG indicators lead to significantly higher MAC, and that MAC strongly increase beyond a 1–5% emission reduction, depending on farm attributes and the chosen indicator. MAC decrease rapidly with increasing farm size, but the effect levels off beyond a herd size of 40 cows. As expected, the main factors driving gross margins per dairy cow also significantly influence mitigation costs. Our results indicate high variability of MAC on real life farms. In contrast to time consuming simulations with the complex mixed integer bio‐economic programming model, the meta‐models allow the distribution of MAC in a farm population to be efficiently derived and thus could be used to upscale to regional or sector level.     

Leadership Issues and Challenges in the Tourism Industry: A Hong Kong Perspective

This study examines current leadership issues and challenges in the tourism industry with a particular focus on Hong Kong, a trend-setting locality for the industry. Employing qualitative research, in-depth interviews were conducted with 10 highly respected industry leaders, all having long-established careers involving extensive local and global experience. These leaders represent a wide variety of sectors of the tourism industry. Study findings highlighted specific skills (business knowledge, communication, self-reflection), personal characteristics (determination, open-mindedness) and excellent relations with other parties (team support, respect) as key attribute requirements of industry leaders. The industry's universal “people orientation” emerged as the dominant issue that requires particular leadership skills with regard to interpersonal relations and communications. The emergence of new technologies and changes among employees were identified as the two key industry trends that require changing leadership skills. The implications of these findings are discussed and areas for future research highlighted.     

How Muslim Women in The Netherlands Negotiate Discrimination During Leisure Activities

Qualitative research about discrimination encountered by Muslim women in The Netherlands who are participating in leisure activities in public spaces shows that perceived discrimination is part of everyday life. This is especially true for women who wear the veil because their visible head covering signals their “otherness” to people. The discriminatory actions encountered by women in this sample are typically of a nonviolent nature and mostly comprise unpleasant looks and negative remarks. Perceived discrimination often does not prevent the women from participating in leisure activities. Instead, they actively negotiate discrimination by applying various coping strategies, including justification, direct confrontation, accepting the discrimination, and modifying leisure behavior.     

An entrepreneurial process perspective on succession in family firms

We review and analyze previous literature on succession in family firms from an entrepreneurial process perspective. Through a three-step cluster analysis of 117 published articles on succession in family firms published between 1974 and 2010, we find several themes within which succession can be understood from an entrepreneurial process perspective where both the entry of new owners and exit of old owners are associated with the pursuit of new business opportunities. We identify gaps within each cluster and develop a set of research questions that may guide future research on succession as an entrepreneurial process. Since succession involves implications for individuals, families and firms, we suggest researchers should adopt a multilevel perspective as they seek answers to these research questions. Our review and analysis also underlines the need to focus on ownership transition rather than only management succession, and the importance of carefully defining both succession and family firm.