Best practice interventions: Short-term impact and long-term outcomes

This paper uses empirical field research to examine whether short-term best practice interventions (BPIs) can lead to improvements that are sustained in the long term. In addition, this research investigates the implied conflict between striving for short-term results and achieving long-term development of capabilities. It also examines the tension between the lack of resources of the typical small and medium sized enterprise (SME) users of BPIs and the time required to develop a critical mass of capability. A longitudinal case-based study of eight SME contexts examined BPI outcomes and factors leading to short- and long-term success and sustaining best practices. The research identifies factors related to the intervention context, implementation and change-agent approach. The data indicate that in resource-limited SMEs BPIs are limited in their ability to develop adequate capability for long-term change.     

Negative equity and wages

We examine the relationship between housing equity and wage earnings using nine waves of the national American Housing Survey from 1985 to 2003. Employing a rich set of time and place controls, a synthetic mortgage instrumental variable strategy, and a first difference estimator we find that people underwater on their mortgage command a significantly lower wage than other homeowners. The finding survives a number of robustness checks for reverse causality and unobserved heterogeneity. We also explore other determinants of “house lock” including loss aversion, a low existing mortgage interest rate and property tax assessment caps, but do not find these factors mitigate the effect of negative equity on wages.     

Changing HRM systems in two Russian oil companies: Western hegemony or Russian spetsifika?

We contrast attempts to introduce what were seen as sophisticated Western-style human resource management (HRM) systems into two Russian oil companies – a joint venture with a Western multinational corporation (TNK-BP) and a wholly Russian-owned company (Yukos). The drivers for Western hegemony within the joint venture, heavily influenced by expatriates and the established HRM processes introduced by the Western parent, were counteracted to a significant degree by the Russian spetsifika – the peculiarly Russian way of thinking and doing things. In contrast, developments were absorbed faster in the more authoritarian Russian-owned company. The research adds to the theoretical debate about international knowledge transfer and provides detailed empirical data to support our understanding of the effect of both organizational and cultural context on the knowledge-transfer mechanisms of local and multinational companies. As the analysis is based on the perspective of senior local nationals, we also address a relatively under-researched area in the international HRM literature which mostly relies on empirical data collected from expatriates and those based solely in multinational headquarters.     

The coffee-machine system: how international selection really works

The literature on expatriate selection tends to present lists of criteria, with the implicit assumption that the process is formal and rational. The limited empirical work there is in this area suggests that these criteria have little impact on selection in practice. This paper argues that a deeper understanding of selection systems is needed and presents research showing the outcomes of different kinds of systems, suggesting that closed, informal systems predominate and outlining the practical and research implications of such systems.     

The rapid internationalization of high technology firms created through the commercialization of academic research

This article uses the international entrepreneurship framework developed by Jones, M. V., & Coviello, N. E. (2005). Internationalization: Conceptualizing an entrepreneurial process of behavior in time. Journal of International Business Studies, 36(3): 284–303, to explore the internationalization of high technology firms created through the commercialization of academic research. In particular, the effect of networks and entrepreneurial orientation is explored. Theoretical sampling resulted in four cases being studied. The data suggests that the “fundamental” networks of the academics involved in the firms assisted in the identification and exploitation of initial opportunities to internationalize. The research also suggests that only certain dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation impacted the internationalization of firms. Specifically, risk taking, technological innovativeness, and autonomy in certain parts of the organization assist in the entrepreneurial stages, while proactiveness and product–market innovativeness assist the success of firms internationally.     

Claims,Concerns and Interests In British Credit Union Development

The British credit union movement has grown rapidly over the past decade, albeit from a low base relative to other nations. That growth has been led by a natlonal credlt union pollcy network. Thls article provides a detailed appraisal of the structure of that network, the motivations of its members and the relations between them.

This study highlights the existence of contradictions in the ‘policy space’ occupied by this network that have obscured the public interest In credit union development to date. These contradictions need to be resolved if the performance of the system as a whole is to be improved and public policy goals are to be met Increasing visibtlity ensuing from repeated endorsement of credit unions by the Labour government is bringing added pressures to bear on that network. New actors may be expected to enter the credit union polltlcal market as a result The irnpacts of entry, both positive and negative, are evaluated in terms of the coheslon and effectiveness of ihe credit union policy network.