The challenges of global capitalism: unemployment and state workers' reactions and responses in post-reform China

As China enters the twenty-first year of reform, the success of its economic policies has been widely recognized. But what is also true is that economic reforms initiated in the past decades, particularly the restructuring of state-owned enterprises, have inevitably marginalized state workers - the 'masters of socialist China'. Workers in private and non-state sectors might have benefited from the economic reforms but state workers of most state-owned enterprises feel bitterly left behind. The aim of this article is to examine the perception of state workers of the causes of organizational difficulties, their worries in face of redundancy and their coping strategies. Observations made in this study are based on field interviews and questionnaire survey of 649 state workers in Beijing, Shenyang and Zhejiang from 1996 to 1999.     

The impact of HR configuration on firm performance in Singapore: a resource-based explanation

This study investigates how the characteristics of a firm's human resource practices and processes (HRPPs) are associated with firm performance. The results found that the extent to which HRPPs can be substituted by information technology or codified in employee manuals, made them easy to be imitated and were therefore associated with an attenuation of the firm's financial performance. On the other hand, constant positive investments into a firm's HRPPs were associated with enhanced firm performance. No significant relationships were found between the embeddedness of HRPPs with information technology or the uniqueness of the firm's HRPPs and firm performance. The results are explained in terms of the resource-based view of the firm.     

Comparing operationalizations of dual commitment and their relationships with turnover intentions

This study evaluates the meaning behind the different approaches to measuring dual commitment in a sample of 2568 unionized South Korean electronics employees. Results show that individuals can be simultaneously committed to both the union and the organization. We then examine the utility of dual commitment by examining its prediction of intention to stay. Analysis of variance provides support that individuals who are dually committed have significantly higher intentions to stay within the organization than those who are uncommitted or unilaterally committed. A new direction to reinvigorate the future of dual commitment research is offered.     

Knowledge sharing,work–family conflict and supervisor support: investigating a three-way effect

Despite the importance of knowledge sharing in competitive environments, there is a paucity of studies examining the relationship between employee knowledge sharing and work–family conflict. Drawing on insights from conservation of resources theory, this study investigated how employees may reduce their knowledge-sharing behaviors when they experience resources lost from work interference with family (WIF) or family interference with work (FIW). Furthermore, the role of supervisor support in the relationship among WIF, FIW and knowledge sharing was explored as a valuable resource. Using data collected from 159 employees in South Korea, we found support that WIF is negatively related to knowledge sharing. In addition, the role of supervisor support in the relationship among WIF, FIW and knowledge sharing was the strongest when WIF is low and FIW is high, thus supporting the hypothesized a three-way effect. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Transnational HR network learning in Korean business groups and the performance of their subsidiaries

This study explores (1) how two distinct dimensions of transnational human resources (HR) network learning, i.e. globally linked and locally leveraged learning, are related to the performance of the foreign subsidiaries of Korean business groups (chaebols) and (2) how strategic HR learning mediates the relationship between these two dimensions of transnational HR network learning and the performance of foreign subsidiaries. We propose that each dimension of transnational HR network learning is related independently and jointly to the performance of a chaebol's foreign subsidiaries. Our results suggest that locally leveraged HR learning has a stronger relationship with the performance of sales subsidiaries, whereas globally linked HR learning has a stronger relationship with the performance of manufacturing subsidiaries. In addition, we find that the interaction between the two dimensions of transnational HR network learning has a weaker positive relationship with the performance of foreign manufacturing subsidiaries than that of foreign sales subsidiaries.     

Fuzzy-set method in comparative social policy: a critical introduction and review of the applications of the fuzzy-set method

This article critiques the Fuzzy-set Qualitative Analysis (fs/QCA) methodology by examining its applicability in three studies in the field of comparative social policy. In each of these three test cases, I focus on the validity of fuzzy-set’s claimed function—its ability to combine theoretic discourse and evidence analysis. All three studies investigate welfare state reform in the late twentieth century and apply fs/QCA: (1) “Welfare Reform in the Nordic Countries in the 1990s: Using Fuzzy-set Theory to Assess Conformity to Ideal Types,” (2) “States of Welfare or States of Workfare? Welfare State Restructuring in 16 Capitalist Democracies, 1985–2002,” and (3) “The Diversity and Causality of Welfare State Reforms Explored with Fuzzy-sets.” This article begins by discussing the ontology and epistemology of comparative social policy. The fuzzy set logic and set theoretic nature of social science theory is then discussed to align the ontology with fuzzy set methodology. Next, a more detailed introduction of fuzzy-set method (fs/QCA) is followed. This study suggests that fs/QCA is a unique and useful method for comparative social policy. It advances quantitative analysis by exploring cases configurationally and also advances the qualitative analysis by applying the fuzzy set logic and the principle of calibration.     

Company and union commitment: evidence from an adversarial industrial relations climate at a Korean auto plant

This study examines the feasibility and antecedents of worker commitment to company and union at an automobile plant in Korea. It utilized a sample of 331 workers at the plant who were implementing new management techniques, e.g. human resources management, total quality management and lean production. The plant had a long history of adversarial industrial relations, and its workforce was organized by the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, a union organization known for its militancy. The study found little evidence of workers' dual commitment to the company and the trade union, but instead discovered a competing commitment between company and trade union. Furthermore, company and union commitment were predicated on different factors, with workers' positive perceptions of the industrial relations climate positively affecting commitment to their company and negatively affecting commitment to their union. The findings were more consistent with those at other workplaces with an adversarial industrial relations climate rather than those with a co-operative one.     

Public-sector pay in China: 1949–2001

Despite the quantitative and qualitative significance of the public sector in China, insufficient studies have been carried out to advance our knowledge of its pay policy and practice and any changes that may have taken place in the wake of the market economy. This paper provides an overview of the three major reforms in China's public-sector pay in the last five decades and assesses its likely impact on public-sector employees' income in relation to that of workers in enterprises. It focuses on the role of the state in the pay determination process, factors influencing the wage distribution, changes in pay structure and grading systems and causes for earning differentials. It reveals a very different approach to pay determination from those more familiarly seen in the UK and indeed Europe and the US. The exploration of the conflicts and tensions characteristic of the public-sector pay system in China will enhance our understanding of the pressures and dilemmas facing different governments.     

Determinants of employee willingness to use feedback for performance improvement: cultural and organizational interpretations

This study was designed to identify determinants of employee willingness to use feedback for performance improvement. The proposed determinants included objectives of appraisal, supervisor's knowledge of subordinate's job, agreed plan for performance improvement, trust in supervisor and perceived fairness and accuracy of performance evaluation. Data were collected in two phases. The first phase consisted of a questionnaire survey among 100 Hong Kong Chinese employees working in public and private sector organizations. Regression analysis of questionnaire data indicated that agreed plan for performance improvement and perceived fairness and accuracy of performance evaluation had significant positive effects on employee willingness to use performance feedback. In the second phase, focus group interviews were held to triangulate survey findings. Interview data suggested that Chinese cultural characteristics of paternalism and personalism influenced the underlying dynamics of the evaluation process. Findings are interpreted in the context of employees cultural and organizational background.     

Identification of future signal based on the quantitative and qualitative text mining: a case study on ethical issues in artificial intelligence

To foresee the advent of new technologies and their socio-economic impact is a necessity for academia, governments and private enterprises as well. In the future studies, the identification of future signal is one of the renowned techniques for analysis of trends, emerging issue, and gaining future insights. In the Big Data era, recent scholars have proposed using a text mining procedure focusing upon web data such as new social media and academic papers. However, the detection of future signals is still under a developing area of research, and there is much to improve existing methodology as well as developing theoretical foundations. The present study reviews previous literature on identifying emerging issue based on the weak signal detection approach. Then the authors proposed a revised framework that incorporate quantitative and qualitative text mining for assessing the strength of future signals. The authors applied the framework to the case study on the ethical issues of artificial intelligence (hereafter AI). From EBSCO host database, the authors collected text data covering the ethical issues in AI and conducted text mining analysis. Results reveal that emerging ethical issues can be classified as strong signal, weak signal, well-known but not so strong signal, and latent signal. The revised methodology will be able to provide insights for government and business stakeholders by identifying the future signals and their meanings in various fields.