Search results for "Strategy"
showing 10 items of 2256 documents
The role of entrepreneurs in transferring knowledge through human resource management and joint venture
2011
PurposeThe transfer of knowledge is a source of competitive advantage, and in particular, transfer between organisations through cooperation between firms via a joint venture. This paper aims to discuss some of the issuesDesign/methodology/approachThe hypotheses were contrasted via a structural equation model using a sample of 74 firms, 51 of which were Spanish and 23 from the rest of the world, which had recently cooperated.FindingsThe authors address the question of the positive influence of employees on knowledge transfer. They do not influence the process. Second, the authors propose the influence of intermediate management on knowledge transfer. These managers play a very relevant role…
Key levels for knowledge creation and management: which is the ontological locus for learning in Spanish manufacturing firms?
2013
This paper aims to highlight two core issues related to knowledge management and organisational learning. First deals with the ontological support-knowledge creation relationship. Secondly, the comparison between Crossan et al. (1999) and Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995) models: on what ontological supports knowledge is created? Individuals, groups and organisation: are they independent or do they interact with each other? Is individual level swallowed up by the group [as Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995) seems to suggest], leading to groups and organisation as unique ontological levels? The empirical study draws those ontological levels in large manufacturing Spanish firms. It identifies (via explorato…
High involvement work practices and firm performance
2009
During the past two decades the chain of three links organizational strategy – human resources practices – organizational performance has been deeply analysed. However, the mediator role of organizational structure in the first link of this chain remains relatively uninvestigated. In this article we analyse a model of relationships among organizational strategy, organizational structure, human resources practices, and organizational performance. Through a structural equation methodology applied to a sample of 183 Spanish companies, we will try to confirm that organizations with differentiation strategies are more likely to implement high involvement work practices. As a novelty we will intr…
Towards a methodology to assess organizational learning capability
2011
PurposeThe present study aims to revalidate a measurement scale for organizational learning capability in the context of university faculty members. This is a particularly relevant context because it deals with knowledge‐intensive services. Following Chiva et al., organizational learning capability was conceptualized as a second factor construct including five dimensions: experimentation, risk taking, interaction with the external environment, dialogue and participative decision making.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from the Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica, a leading university in Costa Rica. The survey was addressed to faculty members. A total of 795 valid questionnaire…
Organizations’ Use of Temporary Employment and a Climate of Job Insecurity among Belgian and Spanish Permanent Workers
2009
Extensive use of temporary employment may create a climate of job insecurity among permanent workers in a specific organization. This climate is likely conditional upon the proportion of temporary workers in the organization, and upon the reasons for hiring temporary workers. The percentage of temporary workers may relate to permanent workers’ shared perceptions of job insecurity. Employers’ motives for hiring temporary workers may relate to permanent workers’ perceptions of job insecurity when these motives threaten the position of permanent workers. Conversely, the relationship with a climate of job insecurity is likely negative when the organization hires temporary workers to support pe…
Job Insecurity and Health-Related Outcomes among Different Types of Temporary Workers
2005
Over the past few decades, the number of flexible workers has increased, a situation that has captured researchers’ attention. Traditionally, temporary workers were portrayed as being disadvantaged compared to permanent workers. But in the new era, temporary workers cannot be treated as a homogeneous group. This study distinguishes between four types of temporaries based on their contract preference and employability level. Furthermore, it compares them with a permanent group. Whether these groups differ on job insecurity and health-related outcomes in a sample of 383 Spanish employees was tested. Differences in well-being and life satisfaction were found, and the hypotheses were supported.…
Job attitudes, behaviours and well-being among different types of temporary workers in Europe and Israel
2011
Applying an innovative typology based on preference for temporary em- ployment and perceived employability, the authors empirically examine four types of temporary workers (and a group of permanent workers for comparison). In a sample of 1,300 employees from six countries, they find significant differences between the four types on a broad set of variables - including demographic and job characteristics, attitude and insecurity - but not in life satisfaction and well-being. They conclude with an argument against the equation of temporary employment with low-skilled workers unable to find a permanent job, stressing the valuable implications of more sensitive research for policy-making on fle…
Wage Cyclicality under Different Regimes of Industrial Relations
2010
Since there is scant evidence on the role of industrial relations in wage cyclicality, this paper analyzes the effect of collective wage contracts and of works councils on real wage growth. Using linked employer-employee data for western Germany, we find that works councils affect wage growth only in combination with collective bargaining. Wage adjustments to positive and negative economic shocks are not always symmetric. Only under sectoral bargaining there is a (nearly symmetric) reaction to rising and falling unemployment. In contrast, wage growth in establishments without collective bargaining adjusts only to falling unemployment and is unaffected by rising unemployment.
Flexible Wage Contracts, Temporary Jobs, and Firm Performance: Evidence From Italian Firms
2013
This study focuses on the effects of decentralized wage schemes and temporary forms of employment on firm performance. The effect of monetary incentives on workers' effort and firm performance is a central topic in economics. According to the principal-agent paradigm, firms (the principal) have to link employees' remuneration schemes to any verifiable indicator of performance to avoid opportunistic behavior. The empirical evidence shows that financial incentives have the potential to exert strong effects on indicators of firm performance, such as productivity and worker absenteeism, although the degree of effectiveness of such schemes varies significantly according to the institutional/econ…
The role of Institutions in explaining wage determination in the Euro Area: a panel cointegration approach
2016
Over the last 15 years, the evolution of labor costs has been very diverse across EMU countries. Since wages have important second-round effects on prices and competitiveness, and EMU countries do not have the tool of the nominal exchange rate to correct for such imbalances, understanding the determinants of the wage is a matter of increasing concern and debate. We estimate the equilibrium wage equation for the Euro Area over the period 1995-2011 using panel cointegration techniques that allow for cross-section dependence and structural breaks. The results show that the equilibrium wage has a positive relation with productivity and negative relation with unemployment, as expected. We also i…