The (potential) demise of HRM?

This article seeks to provoke that human resource management (HRM), both as an academic field of study and as a form of professional practice, is at risk of impoverishment. The main reasoning for this is because of ideological individualism and marketisation with an attendant neglect on wider organisational, employee, and societal concerns. Following a review of the context of financialised capitalism, three contemporary developments in HRM are used to illustrate the argument: reward strategies, talent management, and high performance work systems. Implications for the practice of HRM and the way the subject area is taught in mainstream business schools are considered.     

Reciprocity between soccer events and visited destination in a border context

ABSTRACT

The study proposes a conceptual model based on hypothesized relationships among team fanship, satisfaction with the event, and host city as antecedents of behavioral intentions in the United States–Mexico border context. The analysis used data from 290 visitors who attended three soccer games of the Xoloitzcuintles team of Tijuana. The results revealed (1) the emotions felt at the visited destination had significant influences on fanship, satisfaction with event venue, and intentional behavior; (2) fanship and event satisfaction do not seem to influence the visitors’ intentions to return and recommend the visited place; (3) gender and duration of the stay showed a significant moderating function.     

"反规划"理论在城市总体规划中的应用--以沅江市城市总体规划为例

反规划理论是相对于传统规划理论而言的一种新的规划理论,它强调规划应先从控制城市生态基础设施入手.文章介绍了反规划理论是如何在沅江市城市总体规划的实践中加以应用的.     

When the target may know better: Effects of experience and information asymmetries on value from mergers and acquisitions

Research summary : Extending research on the effect of experience on acquisition outcomes, we examine how the differential in previous M&A experience between the target and the acquirer affects the value they, respectively, obtain when the acquirer takes over the target. Drawing on literature about organizational learning, negotiation, and information economics, we theorize that the party with greater experience will be able to obtain more value. Furthermore, we theorize that the effect of differential M&A experience on value obtained is contingent on the level of information asymmetry the acquirer faces with respect to the target, specifically as a function of the target's product‐market scope and whether the deal is friendly. We test and find support for these predictions in a sample of 1,241 M&As over a 30‐year period. Managerial summary : Corporate strategy is about a firm's scope and development decisions and outcomes, but corporate strategizing is incomplete unless managers anticipate the moves of other economic actors. We demonstrate the importance of these points when it comes to learning to make acquisitions. Using an innovative research design and theory that enables comparison between acquirer and target gains, we show that whatever their firm's acquisition history and capabilities, acquisitive managers should mind the negotiation and other pitfalls that arise when target firms possess ample acquisition experience of their own. We also demonstrate that the effect of experience advantage, whereby the more experienced party benefits, depends on the target firm's scope and whether the deal is friendly—two dimensions that acquirers can and should take into account. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

How middle managers manage the political environment to achieve market goals: Insights from China's state‐owned enterprises

Research summary: Although the middle management literature has identified various bridging roles performed by middle managers in the market environment, it is relatively vague about whether and how they manage the political environment to achieve market‐related goals. In an inductive field study of four large state‐owned enterprises based in mainland Communist China, operational middle managers were found to take an active role in dealing with political actors to achieve market efficiency in their local environments, performing two distinct bridging strategies. Our field study suggests that middle managers are better equipped than their bosses (top executives) as well as their subordinates (frontline employees) to perform the bridging function between competing market and political imperatives in various local settings. Managerial summary: For firms that operate in diverse geographies, it is challenging for a handful of top executives to deal with numerous political actors. This burden could be shared with operational middle managers, who play a bridging role by drawing on their operational knowledge and local networks. Our research on middle managers who work under the scrutiny of political actors in China found that they bridge market and political ideology by conveying common features that seem legitimate to both. They also bridge market goals and political actors with personal affect. Compared to top executives and frontline employees, middle managers have unique advantages in performing these bridging functions. Firms can enhance their strategy execution ability by training middle managers in dealing with political actors in diverse contexts. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

利用频移动态特征的辐射源目标盲分选

利用辐射源目标的频移动态特征进行盲分选时,针对已有的分选方法不能很好解决非合作接收数据非周期、间断、交叠的问题,提出了一种改进的逻辑回归分选算法,将信号分选转化为轨迹分类的问题来处理。首先,借鉴多目标航迹起始模型中的M/N逻辑法的框架,设计新的数据关联门限,以建立目标起始曲线;其次,采用最小二乘拟合方法替代卡尔曼滤波,设计新的外推规则,建立载频变化预测曲线;分析新的接收数据与预测曲线的关联性,不断迭代回归或形成新的分支,最后获得目标分选结果。仿真与实测试验表明,利用逻辑回归分选算法,对不同运动目标搭载的同频辐射源可进行自动分选,4个仿真目标与2个真实目标的分选正确率达到100%。同时,该方法拓展了辐射源目标盲分选中的动态频移特征应用,为辐射源个体识别提供了新的支持。     

Demand for milk quantity and safety in urban China: evidence from Beijing and Harbin

Urban households account for most of the milk consumption in China, but their consumption is hampered by safety concerns. Using survey data collected in Beijing and Harbin in 2010, this paper simultaneously analyses urban households' milk consumption using a multiple linear model and their willingness‐to‐pay for milk safety using an ordered choice model. The results of this study show that as income increases, urban households consume more milk and are willing to pay a higher premium for milk safety. Modern food marketing channels play a positive role in stimulating milk consumption and building consumers' confidence in milk safety. The growth in the elderly population influences milk consumption positively, but their demand for milk safety is negatively affected by higher price. The combined analysis of households' demand for milk quantity and safety may be useful to the Chinese government in promoting the development of the domestic milk industry and to dairy firms in exploring the milk market in China.     

Off‐farm labor market decisions and agricultural shocks among rural households in Kenya

Using household level data from rural Kenya, this article explores whether and how farm households respond to unfavorable agricultural production environments, including any ex post adjustments in off‐farm labor supply in response to unexpected weather shocks. While controlling for a wide range of educational, demographic, and other locational factors, we examine how long‐term weather conditions and specific rainfall shocks influence a household's decision to engage in, and their earnings from, the off‐farm labor market. We find that rural households engage in off‐farm work as a long‐term strategy to deal with the effects of anticipated weather conditions on their farming operations. The analysis does not reveal major short‐term adjustments in off‐farm engagement as a result of specific, unexpected rainfall shocks; these households do however rely on remittance income and petty agricultural wage labor under these circumstances. Holding other factors constant, and conditional on participation, households in areas with a more productive local agriculture tend to earn more from off‐farm work especially in the informal/business sector than their counterparts in regions with a less productive agriculture. As expected, a vibrant local economy in the form of public investment increases the probability of off‐farm participation.     

Do Vietnamese upland farmers benefit from high world market prices for maize?

For rural households in the north of Vietnam, maize cropping is the main source of income. In the face of the world market price increases of the recent past, we analyze the regional marketing chain of this commodity qualitatively and econometrically investigating to what extent smallholder farmers in developing countries are affected by international price movements. Vietnamese maize markets are found to be well integrated. Recent price hikes have fully transmitted along the regional supply chain so that farmers profited. Nevertheless, adverse factors such as increasing input prices have neutralized these benefits resulting in a decline in real income of smallholders.     

边疆地区现代农牧业发展战略研究

我国是世界陆地边界线最长、邻国最多、边界情况最复杂的国家之一。边疆地区的发展关系到国家领土安全、民族团结和睦邻友好、国家生态安全、国家经济安全、对外开发开放等一系列核心利益。农业现代化对改善边民生产生活条件、缩小同内地发展差距、带动边疆工业、贸易、交通运输及社会事业发展,确保边疆长治久安和维护民族团结,具有首要战略意义,是边疆地区发展战略的核心。近年来,边疆地区城镇化进程有所推进,边民生计仍以传统农业为主;农业综合生产能力不断提高,产业发展尚显缓慢;边疆农牧民收入地区差异明显,受国内外资源约束影响显著;边境贸易活动活跃,双边农业合作还较弱势。鉴于边疆地区农牧业的战略地位以及特殊性,边疆现代农牧业发展不能照搬内陆沿海地区的路子。为此,边疆地区现代农牧业发展应与守土戍边、扶贫开发、生态保护、对外开放结合起来,利用国内外两种资源、两个市场,走绿色、生态、安全、适度规模的发展道路。