Working in the digitized economy: HRM theory & practice

In our introduction to this special issue on the gig economy, we provide some context to how and why this phenomenon should be studied, with a particular emphasis on Human Resource Management. We then describe the four articles that comprise the special issue, and we note some common themes. Our introduction concludes with some suggestions for future research on the gig economy.     

The Care Economy in Post-Reform China: Feminist Research on Unpaid and Paid Work and Well-Being

ABSTRACT

As China embarked on the path of economic and social reforms, social provisions from the Maoist era were dismantled, and care responsibilities shifted back from the state to the household. Rural–urban migration, a steep decline in fertility, and increasing longevity have led to changes in the age structure of the population both overall and by region. Using seven different surveys, the eleven contributions in this volume study the distributive consequences of post-reform care policies and the impact of unpaid care responsibilities on women’s and men’s opportunities and gender inequality. Overall, reduced care services have created care deficits for disadvantaged groups, including low-income rural elderly and children. The shifted care burden has also limited women’s ability to participate fully in the market economy and has contributed to rising gender inequalities in labor force participation, off-farm employment, earnings, pensions, and mental health outcomes.     

The life cycle concept as a long term forecasting model

This paper presents a model for long term sales forecasting based upon the product life cycle concept. The life cycle concept is first reviewed with an emphasis on sales behavior in each of the life cycle stages. A simple model consistent with the life cycle concept is then presented. Based upon this model a sales forecasting methodology is developed and tested. The results are generally promising particularly considering the nature of the test data. The article concludes by suggesting future applications of the product life cycle concept. Ralston Purina Company     

Managerial response to constitutional constraints on shareholder power

Research summary: We examine whether top managers engage in misconduct, such as illegal insider trading, illegal stock option backdating, bribery, and financial manipulation, in response to the presence, or absence, of governance provisions that impose constitutional constraints on shareholder power. Within the agency framework, shareholders typically oppose governance provisions that limit their power because those provisions could undermine shareholder influence and increase agency costs. However, when shareholders support provisions that constrain their power, managers could respond positively by refraining from self‐interested behavior in the form of managerial misconduct. We find this to be especially true in industries where these governance provisions are particularly relevant to managers and in scenarios where CEOs do not also serve as board chair. Managerial summary: In recent years, shareholders have become central to organizations and the managers who run them. Shareholders and managers establish a rapport with one another, such that the behavior of one affects the behavior of the other. One of the most consequential decisions shareholders can make pertains to the reach of their influence: They can choose to impose strict governance over firms they own or they can allow for constitutional constraints that limit shareholder power. When they act in the mutual interest of managers by allowing such constraints, we find that managers respond in kind by refraining from bad behavior, such as illegal stock options backdating, insider trading, and financial manipulation. This is especially true in industries and scenarios in which shareholder pressure is most relevant to managers. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

School Enrollment and Graduation Rates in Western China Based on the 2000 Census

This paper examines the 2000 Chinese Census data for educational enrollment and graduation of Western Chinese youth aged 10–18. Analysis is done on a regional, provincial, and individual level and comparisons are offered between Western and Eastern China. Comparisons are also made with the 1990 Census in order to explore changes over the decade of the 1990s. We find a substantial improvement in educational attainment rates for all groups and at all levels over the decade. School initiations are very high in every province. The aggregate gender gap has also narrowed significantly over this period. Individual level analysis shows that boys are still more likely to start school, graduate from primary school and start middle school. There is no significant gender gap when it comes to finishing middle school or starting high school.     

Does Corporate Governance Predict Future Performance? Evidence from Hong Kong

This study uses time‐series data to examine the relation between changes in the quality of corporate governance practices and subsequent market valuation among large listed companies in Hong Kong. The results indicate that firms that exhibit improvements in the quality of corporate governance display a subsequent increase in market valuation, whereas firms that exhibit deterioration in the quality of corporate governance practices tend to encounter a decline in market valuation. Additionally, the impact is greater for firms that are included in the MSCI index or with a China affiliation. The results provide evidence in support of the notion that good corporate governance can predict future market valuation.     

U. S. energy production activity and innovation

Life-cycle studies provide a comprehensive insight into comparative innovation behavior and innovation constants. In this article a comparison of the life-cycle plots for the production and patent activity is made for US energy production categories. As has been shown previously for material production [TFSC, vol.78, 2011], the two activities may be correlated to such an extent that they may be superimposed to a large degree, for all growth stage except stage IV, simply by an origin-shift. Over ten energy production methods have been studied in this manner for the first time. An origin-shift ratio, OR, (positive or negative lag) describes the amount required to shift the two activity curves in order to superimpose them. The relative drive-force ratio, DR (defined as the ratio of the production and patent growth constants) is noted to scale with the origin-shift. The value of this drive-force ratio determines the amount of production that is influenced by patents. The slope of curve of the drive-force ratio plotted against the origin-shift ratio is noted to be constant across all energy categories in the high growth Stage III. The authors find for the first time that even early stage production displays an origin-shift. Energy materials (i.e., those materials that dominate a particular type of energy production) are also studied in the material category alone, where the total usage of the material is considered. The concept of Green materials is discussed in this context. The life-cycle approach collapses the energy categories/sources and related materials into two groups. The authors discuss these groups in the Schumpeterian framework of constructive and destructive innovation. Group 1, containing coal, natural gas, wind, renewable, fossil fuel, solar and total energies, is composed of energy categories/sources whose patent activity could be inferred as driving their production. On the other hand, energy production from biomass, biofuel, geothermal and nuclear energies is identified in Group 2, in which the patent activity is driven by production (high innovation group). An (OR) of slightly less than one and a (DR) less than one, lead to a placement where with time, a constructive to destructive innovation transition is encountered A very low (OR) and a low (DR) on the other hand leads to a transition from Stage III growth to a no-growth (Stage IV) with time. Innovation enhanced resources and production are also discussed.     

If You're Happy and You Know It: How Do Mothers and Fathers in the US Really Feel about Caring for Their Children?

This paper considers the question posed by popular media: Do women like doing childcare more than men? Using contemporaneous subjective well-being data paired with 24-hour time diaries from the 2010 American Time Use Survey, the paper explores gender differences in how mothers and fathers feel when engaged in a set of common daily activities. We find that both mothers and fathers engaged in child caregiving enjoy their time spent in child caregiving; fathers as much, or even more so, than mothers as evidenced by their average values for happiness, meaningfulness, tiredness, and stress and an aggregated statistic, the unpleasantness index. Simulations provide evidence that the difference between mothers and fathers comes almost completely from differences in their subjective well-being rather than from differences in how they use their time.