The use of remotely sensed data to detect channel hydromorphology; River Tummel,Scotland

Colour aerial photography and multi‐spectral imagery acquired from airborne platforms for the River Tummel, Scotland, was used in conjunction with field survey to assess the feasibility of monitoring hydromorphology and human alteration within the river corridor. The study was undertaken to investigate the possibility of remotely sensing the physical status of a nation's rivers at the national scale to comply with the requirement of the European Water Framework Directive. Visual assessment and unsupervised and supervised automated classifications of the imagery were undertaken and compared with field survey data. In the absence of overhanging vegetation canopies most features above the water line of interest were visible on the imagery. Below the water line, morphology and substrate composition together with bank materials on vertically cut banks are less easily detected. The overall accuracy of automated classification procedures, compared to field survey, was 60% for the colour aerial photography and 68% for the multi‐spectral imagery. Supervised classification was superior to unsupervised classification procedures. Sun glint on water surfaces and shadows caused by high banks, trees and buildings were observed as the cause of most misclassification of features. Overall, the study demonstrates that remotely sensed digital imagery has the potential to allow panoptic mapping of river hydromorphology and human impacts. The possibilities and constraints, in light of the findings of this study, are discussed. In the context of new legislation which requires environmental protection agencies to have robust tools for monitoring the physical status, as part of meeting the objective of good ecological status, of rivers across an entire nation, remote sensing appears to provide a way forward. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The relationship between perceptions of HR practices and employee outcomes: examining the role of person–organisation and person–job fit

Human resource management (HRM) practices can play an important role in matching people with the organisations and the jobs they work in. However, little is known about how employees perceive and interpret HR practices and whether or how these perceptions relate to perceptions of person–organisation (P–O) and person–job (P–J) fit. This study aims to bridge strategic HRM and person–environment fit literature by examining possible mediating and moderating roles of P–O and P–J fit in the relationship between employee perceptions of a broad set of HR practices and employee attitudes and behaviours. Results from a sample of 412 employees support direct relationships as well as a mediating and moderating role of P–O and P–J fit in the relationship between perceived HR practices and employee outcomes.     

Enough is Enough: Cognitive Antecedents of Workaholism and Its Aftermath

Workaholism is commonly conceptualized as a compulsive inner drive to work excessively hard. This study investigates to what extent rigid personal beliefs—i.e., performance‐based self‐esteem (self‐esteem that is contingent upon good performance) and an enough continuation rule (continuing with work until one feels one has done enough)—contribute to exhaustion through workaholism. To examine these potential antecedents and consequences of workaholism, data of a two‐wave longitudinal survey study with a six‐month time interval was used (n = 191). Results of structural equation modeling provided support for our hypotheses. Taken together, our findings show that rigid personal beliefs at T1 predicted primarily working compulsively at T2, and working compulsively at T1 influenced exhaustion at T2. Moreover, reciprocal relationships were found between applying the enough continuation rule and working compulsively, and between working compulsively and exhaustion. These results suggest partial mediation from cognitive antecedents (personal beliefs) through workaholism to exhaustion. In practical terms, the results indicate that cognitive antecedents may provide a good starting point for interventions for preventing exhaustion and workaholism. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Sixty years of research on technology and human resource management: Looking back and looking forward

Technology has changed the way we work and how companies manage their employees. This article reviews 60 years of research on the relationship between technology and human resource management, as represented in Human Resource Management. Based on 154 articles, we identify recurring and evolving patterns of research on technology across three time periods (separated by the advent of the personal computer in 1977 and by the popularization of consumer internet services in 1997), three perspectives on technology (tool, proxy, and ensemble view of technology), and three thematic streams (the impact of technology on jobs and organizations, the utilization of technology in HR activities, and the management of technology workers). Drawing on patterns of research that emerged in the past, we provide suggestions for future HR research on newly arriving technology.     

Commonalities and contradictions in HRM and performance research

This is an overview of what the authors believe to be every empirical research article into the linkages between HRM and performance published in pre‐eminent international refereed journals between 1994 and 2003. The analysis covers the design of the study, including the primary level of analysis and the identity of the respondents; the dominant theoretical framework(s) informing the article; how HRM is conceived and operationalised; how performance is conceived and operationalised; and which control and/or contingency variables are incorporated. Finally, the article examines how each study depicts the so‐called ‘black box’ stage between HRM and performance. It reports wide disparities in the treatment of these components, but also some welcome commonalities and indicative trends that point towards a gradual convergence on how future research into this complex relationship might usefully be conducted. The findings are compared with previous reviews of the literature. The analysis should illuminate the ongoing debate about the linkages between HRM and performance, and prove valuable for future research designs.     

Integrating strategic human capital and strategic human resource management

Abstract

Human capital is an important construct in a variety of fields spanning from micro scholarship in psychology to macro scholarship in economics. Within the various disciplinary perspectives, research focuses on slightly different aspects and levels of human capital within organizations, which may give opportunities for integration. The current paper aims to increase knowledge about human capital within organizations by integrating two streams of research which focus directly on human capital, but have approached human capital in different ways: strategic human capital (SHC), and strategic HRM. We describe both SHC and strategic HRM research streams and propose areas of integration, and directions for future research on human capital in organizations.     

Evolving roles and dynamic capabilities of an innovation agency: the Dutch Rijksnijverheidsdienst, 1910–1940

Contemporary literature on intermediary organisations does not cover the history of these organisations in the early twentieth century or how their roles evolved. To understand the evolution of roles, this paper extends the application of dynamic capabilities theory from firms to intermediary organisations. It does this by studying a Dutch government innovation agency between 1910 and 1940 with dynamic capabilities in mediation and knowledge development. These capabilities are illustrated by nine examples that reveal how the agency's consultants modified and extended their resource base in order to continue supporting small and medium-sized enterprises while coping with considerable challenges and changes. Thereby, this paper shows that the dynamic capabilities theory can explain how intermediary organisations can adapt their roles.     

National innovation systems and international knowledge flows: an exploratory investigation with the case of the Netherlands

Since the late 1980s, the literature on innovation systems has flourished, often tying these systems to nation-states. Technology, however, often flows across the borders of nations. In this paper, four cases are studied where foreign technology is imported and appropriated from abroad into Dutch companies. By doing so, the questions what a national system of innovation consists of and what such a system means for firms are explored. The cases studied provide a picture of international-sectoral systems, adding up to a loosely interacting innovation system at the national level.     

From ‘Golden Age’ to ‘Golden Age.’ An Introduction to the Role of the Netherlands in Economic Science and Economic History

This article introduces the special issue of De Economist on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the Royal Netherlands Association of Economists.