Could HRM support organizational innovation?

Nowadays, it has become clear that the capacity of organizations to innovate and manage their human resources can be sources of competitive advantage. Recently, literature also asserts a positive relationship between human resource management and innovation. However, very little empirical research has specifically addressed those relationships. Using structural equations modelling with data collected from 173 Spanish firms, this study analyses them. Our findings show that innovation contributes positively to business performance and that human resource management enhances innovation. Implications for both academics and managers as well as future research lines are discussed.     

Free Trade versus Autarky under Asymmetric Cournot Oligopoly

The paper compares free trade with autarky in an asymmetric multi‐country world under Cournot competition with constant returns to scale and linear demand. We derive respective conditions under which free trade will hurt a country's consumers, benefit its firms, induce it to export, increase its output and raise its welfare. We show that these conditions are linked in a clear order, with one implying the next. We further demonstrate that free trade can reduce world total output and total consumer surplus as well as world welfare. Along the way, we correct several oversights in the literature.     

Making Chile Visible: Purposes,Operationalisation and Audiences from the Perspective of Nation Branding Practitioners

Chile has become the paradigm of nation branding in Latin America, employing branding initiatives to try to shake off the uncomfortable past of Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship, as well as to create a ‘new’ image that fits into a globalised and neoliberal world. Whilst there has previously been some analysis of Chile’s branding efforts, the viewpoints of the local actors involved in these initiatives have largely been ignored. This article addresses this issue, examining the tensions faced by different individuals who have taken part in nation branding in the country. Drawing on interviews with some of these individuals, this article examines three areas of tension: (1) the conflicting purposes guiding the practice of nation branding, (2) the difficulties around the operationalisation of nation branding and (3) the controversies regarding the intended audiences for their efforts.     

Can environmentally oriented CEOs and environmentally friendly suppliers boost the growth of small firms?

The core question addressed in the natural resource‐based view (NRBV) of the firm is how to develop and exploit resources beneficial for both the natural environment and firm performance. Due to the resource constraints and increased competition facing small manufacturing firms, achieving this is a challenge for such companies. Building on the NRBV and resource orchestration literatures, we examine the relationship between green purchasing capabilities (GPCs), CEO's environmental orientation (EO), and firm growth. Results from 304 Swedish small manufacturing firms indicate a significant relationship between GPC and growth, and this relationship is positively moderated by the EO of the CEO.     

Thriving in the New Normal: The HR Microfoundations of Capabilities for Business Model Innovation. An Integrated Literature Review

Firms need to respond to the increasing competition and change of the current New Normal environment by being more innovative, and especially in developing new business models. This paper seeks to explore how microfoundations, particularly with respect to human resource management, play a key role in facilitating innovation in business models through the development of key needed capabilities. Four themes are identified with respect to business model innovation (BMI) in the New Normal: BMI as an enabler to create and operate across industries and product-markets; BMI as a mechanism for firms to better navigate changing institutional landscapes; BMI as giving rise to business model portfolios; and concurrent and cumulative innovations that can lead to BMI. This paper also develops a conceptual framework that presents a synoptic view of the five essential capabilities for BMI, which include analogical reasoning, sensemaking, dynamic capabilities, organisational ambidexterity, and organisational learning. Finally, it is shown how the microfoundations of a bespoke, development-oriented BMI HR architecture can support the advancement of these capabilities and thus contribute to the strategic HR literature.     

Educational mismatches versus skill mismatches: effects on wages, job satisfaction, and on-the-job search

Education-job mismatches are reported to have serious effectson wages and other labour market outcomes. Such results areoften cited in support of assignment theory, but can also beexplained by institutional and human capital models. To testthe assignment explanation, we examine the relation betweeneducational mismatches and skill mismatches. In line with earlierresearch, educational mismatches affect wages strongly. Contraryto the assumptions of assignment theory, this effect is notexplained by skill mismatches. Conversely, skill mismatchesare much better predictors of job satisfaction and on-the-jobsearch than are educational mismatches.     

The Roles of HRM in CSR: Strategic Partnership or Operational Support?

As the implementation of corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy requires promoting employee participation and initiating meaningful changes in organisational culture, the involvement of the human resource management (HRM) function in policy formulation and implementation is highly desirable. The relationship between the HRM and CSR functions is, however, under-investigated than other areas. Hence, there is a lack of clarity concerning HRM roles and the conditions under which they may be strategic or operational in nature. By drawing on data from interviews with 29 CSR and HRM professionals of large organisations in New Zealand, this paper argues that the role and contribution of the HR function in CSR is contingent on organisational variables such as the CSR structure, the scope and application of CSR and the nature of the HR functions. It concludes that in such contexts HRM is more likely to offer operational support in executing CSR rather than strategic input.     

Book review

Tourism Marketing. By Salah Wahab, Jack Crampon, and L. Rothfield. London, England: Tourism International, 1976. 273 pp. U.S. $16.00

Tourism in the Bahamas and Bermuda: Two Case Studies. By Brian H. Archer. Bangor, Wales: University of Wales Press, 1977. Pp. ix, 87. £3.25

Park Planning Handbook: Fundamentals of Physical Planning for Parks and Recreation Areas. By Monty L. Christiansen. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1977. Pp. xiv, 413. Hardcover: $18.95

Educating for Leisure‐Centered Living. By Charles K. Bright‐bill and Tony A. Mobley. (2nd Edition—Revised). New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1977. Pp. viii, 128. Paperback: $4.95

Private and Commercial Recreation: A Text and Reference. By Arlin F. Epperson. New York: John Wiley & Sons Publishing Company, Inc., 1977. Pp. 385. Hardcover: $15.95

The Economic Impact of Parks. A report prepared for the Federal/Provincial Parks Conference. By the Canadian Outdoor Recreation Research Committee. Toronto: Ontario Research Council on Leisure, 1975. Pp. 107. $4.50

A Model for Planning and Managing National Parks. By Laurence Prosser. Center of Leisure Studies, University of Oregon, 1977. Pp. 456. $25.00

Delivery of Community Leisure Services: An Holistic Approach. By James F. Murphy and Dennis R. Howard. Philadelphia: Lea & Febiger, 1977. Pp. vii, 219. Paperback: $9.75

Recreation Leadership. 3rd edition. By Maryhelen Vannier. Philadelphia: Lea & Febiger, 1977. Pp. 387. Hardcover: $12.50

Leisure: An Introduction. Edited by Hilmi Ibrahim and Fred Martin. Los Alamitos: Hwong Publishing Company, 1977. Pp. 360

Outdoor Recreation in America: Trends, Problems and Opportunities. 3rd edition. By Clayne R. Jensen. Minneapolis: Burgess Publishing Company, 1977. Pp. 269. Hardcover: $12.95

A Research Study into Provision for Recreation in the Highlands and Islands: Phase 1—Areas Affected by Oil‐Related Development. Research Reports 22, 23, and 31. Tourism and Recreation Research Unit, University of Edinburgh, Scotland, 1976 and 1977. Pp. 339, 411, and 145.

Research Study into Provision for Recreation in the Highlands and Islands: Phase 2—Regional Perspective: A Commentary by J. A. Long, J. T. Coppock, and B. S. Duffield. Research Report 37. Tourism and Recreation Research Unit, University of Edinburgh, Scotland, 1978. 110 pp.

The Environmental Impact of Outdoor Recreation. By Geoffrey Wall and Cynthia Wright. Waterloo, Ontario, Canada: Department of Geography Publication Series, Faculty of Environmental Studies. 1977, 69 pp. $5.00.

Avocational Counseling Manual—A Complete Guide to Leisure Guidance. By Robert Overs, Sharon Taylor, and Catherine Adkins. Washington, D.C.: Hawkins and Associates, Inc., 1977, 203 pp.

Leisure and Recreation: Introduction and Overview. By Clayne R. Jensen. Philadelphia: Lea & Febiger, 1977, 295 pp. Paperback $13.50.

The Joy of Sport. By Michael Novak. New York: Basic Books, 1976. Pp. 358. $10.95     

Public Reactions to Policy Recommendations from the Banff-Bow Valley Study: A Longitudinal Assessment

The Banff-Bow Valley Study (BBVS), a two-year, $2.4 million project designed to formulate guidelines for the future of a major National Parks region in the Canadian Rockies, provided a comprehensive set of over 500 policy recommendations for enhancing ecological integrity and managing sustainable tourism in this popular, environmentally sensitive destination (Page et al., 1996). For these recommendations to be implemented effectively, support from a broad range of stakeholders in the Canadian citizenry is essential. Surprisingly, the BBVS itself did not explore public attitudes towards its final recommendations. In an attempt to overcome this shortcoming, the present authors undertook to assess the degree of public support for the major recomm endations of the BBVS. The total assessment consisted of a two-phase longitudinal study. Phase 1 was conducted in 1996, following the release of the BBVS recommendations. Phase 2, which sought to verify the stability of the initial results, was conducted in 2000. W hile some shifts in public support were identified, the most significant findings of Phase 1 were verified. The total study identified those recommendations most likely to be accepted or rejected by Canadians.