Governance for climate-change adaptive capacity in the Swedish electricity sector

Abstract

This article analyses the capacity for climate change adaptation (CCA) in the Swedish electricity grid sector. Utilizing two perspectives from organization theory it directs attention to changes in the sector, from the 1980s until 2010, with radical change with an NPM-reform in 1996. For the time before 1996 findings indicate a high CCA capacity. The reform led to a reduction in this capacity through an increased emphasis on economic efficiency, although there also has been some room for robustness-considerations. This article shows that organizational culture and formal structure influence the capacity to adapt to climate change.     

Personality and the creativity of frontline service employees: linear and curvilinear effects

Abstract

Previous studies have investigated the relationship between the Five-Factor model of personality and creativity. As this model has been criticised for providing a limited account of an individual’s personality, this study considers additional personality traits that have recently been investigated in the literature as determinants of employee behaviour. Moreover, we also contribute to the existing body of literature by conducting this study in a service setting, for which we predict personality traits will exert differentiated effects on creativity when compared to other settings. Finally, while past research has focused on linear effects, this study examines the existence of non-linear effects between personality and creativity. The results indicate that personality traits apart from the Five-Factor model have an impact on creativity and that the effects of several personality traits on the creativity of frontline service employees differ from those obtained in other settings. Lastly, the findings also show that five of the personality traits have non-linear effects on creativity, and this may be a stimulus for a new stream of research in the human resources literature.     

The impact of SARS on China's human resources: implications for the labour market and level of unemployment in the service sector in Beijing,Guangzhou and Shanghai

In this paper, we examine the effects of SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) on China's human resources, its labour-market and its level of employment and unemployment, looking specifically at what was one of its economically most vulnerable points, the hotel industry. The paper hypothesizes that the greatest impact would be on human resources in the service-industries and on particular sub-sectors, such as employment in hotels, located in three main cities in the PRC, in Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai, catering to both overseas as well as domestic tourism. It tentatively concludes that the almost dramatic demand and supply ‘shocks’ may have directly affected both the demand for and the supply of labour in the sub-sector, with discernable employment consequences.     

Collegiality under pressure: the effects of family demands and flexible work arrangements in the Netherlands

Collegial relationships at work have become more important now that organizations increasingly use team-based work processes. Collegiality is also facing new challenges, however: more employees are meeting heavy demands beyond the workplace and making more frequent use of flexible work arrangements. This study seeks to explain the effect of employees’ family demands on collegiality and evaluates whether the use of flexible work arrangements improves or impedes collegial behaviour. Moreover, we aim to investigate collegial behaviour as an exchange process between co-workers, and therefore also take family demands and the use of flexible work arrangements by co-workers into account as predictors of employee collegiality. Based on a sample of 1114 employees from 30 organizations, the results show that when used by the employee and co-workers, flexitime decreases collegiality. Collegiality is decreased when the employee has young children, but increased when co-workers have older children. The implications of these findings for HR practices are discussed.     

Strategic human resource management and supply chain orientation

Most SHRM research has concentrated on single, focal organizations and on activities taking place within the firm. The purpose of this article is to lay a foundation for studying SHRM in the supply chain. We present a framework which identifies factors that influence whether adopting a supply chain orientation (SCO) is effective, and articulates the contingencies that shape SHRM practices needed to achieve and capitalize on SCO. We make several contributions to the strategic human resource management and supply chain literatures. First, we highlight this neglected area of research. Second, we expand the boundary conditions of strategic human resource management and HR systems from a primarily single firm, intra-organizational focus to one which includes both intra- and inter-organizational relationships. Third, we provide a framework for understanding the links between HR systems, SCO, and strategic outcomes. Fourth, we build upon previous theorizing in strategic human resource management and provide a framework for research in the supply chain context. And finally, we offer propositions for future research, along with a decision making model which has implications for both research and management practice.     

On the properties of the hotelling��s T2 control chart with variable sampling intervals

When T ² control chart is used to monitor a process, it is usually assumed that the samples of size n ₀ is taken at constant intervals t ₀ . In this paper, we investigate the T ² control chart for monitoring the process mean vector when the sampling intervals are variable. Recent studies have shown that the variable sampling interval (VSI) scheme helps practitioners detect process shifts more quickly than the classical scheme Fixed Ratio Sampling (FRS). In this paper, it is assumed that the length of time the process remains in control is exponentially distributed.     

An integrated fuzzy mathematical model and principal component analysis algorithm for forecasting uncertain trends of electricity consumption

This paper introduces an integrated algorithm for forecasting electricity consumption (EL) based on fuzzy regression, time series and principal component analysis (PCA) in uncertain markets such as Iran. The algorithm is examined by mean absolute percentage error, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Duncan Multiple Range Test. PCA is used to identify the input variables for the fuzzy regression and time series models. Monthly EL in Iran is used to show the superiority of the algorithm. Moreover, it is shown that the selected fuzzy regression model has better estimated values for total EL than time series. The algorithm provides as good results as intelligent methods. However, it is shown that the algorithm does not require utilization of preprocessing methods but genetic algorithm, artificial neural network and fuzzy inference system require preprocessing which could be a cumbersome task to deal with ambiguous data. The unique features of the proposed algorithm are three fold. First, two type of fuzzy regressions with and without preprocessed data are prescribed by the algorithm in order to minimize the bias. Second, it uses PCA approach instead of trial and error method for selecting the most important input variables. Third, ANOVA is used to statistically compare fuzzy regression and time series with actual data.