Short-term international assignments. Military perspectives and implications for international human resource management

Short-term international assignments have been under-explored in international human resource management (IHRM) literature and research. Equally, there is a dearth of studies on international mobility beyond multinational corporations. Drawing on an exploratory study of short-term international assignments in the Irish Defence Forces, this paper considers the implications for IHRM.     

在线评论的行为影响与价值应用研究综述

随着社交网络的发展,大量用户生成的在线评论影响着消费者的行为,同时被应用于企业的经营管理活动,引起市场营销、信息系统、产品开发等领域学者们的广泛关注,取得很大的研究进展。但是在线评论的研究范围广泛,目前并没有系统性的概念框架,缺乏对在线评论的全局认识。因此,本文尝试从行为影响和价值应用两个层面对在线评论研究文献进行全面总结,并结合当前的技术发展和市场环境,探讨在线评论研究的未来趋势。     

The Organization of Interdisciplinary Research: Modes,Drivers and Barriers

Although the role and management of interdisciplinary research in knowledge development has received plenty of attention in recent years ambiguity remains, often hindering management efforts. To address this issue, this paper provides an integrated review of extant literature on interdisciplinary research. It focuses on integration processes and the main drivers and barriers to different modes of collaborative interdisciplinary research. The authors propose a different approach to considering interdisciplinary integration, based on two factors: the type of knowledge integration; and the durability of the context of that integration. As a result, four modes of interdisciplinary integration are characterized. The authors then consider how different groups of drivers of, and barriers to, interdisciplinary research affect those types of integration. Overall, the paper provides an integrated perspective for researchers, managers and policy‐makers concerned with understanding the organization of interdisciplinary research.     

International Human Resource Management: Review and Critique

The research agenda for the field of international human resource management (IHRM) is clear. For a better understanding and to benefit substantially, management scholars must study IHRM in context (Jackson, S.E. and Schuler, R.S. 1995. Understanding human resource management in the context of organizations and their environment. Annual Review of Psychology , 46: 237–264; Geringer, J.M., Frayne, C.A. and Milliman, J.F. 2002. In search of 'best practices' in international human resource management: research design and methodology. Human Resource Management , forthcoming). IHRM should be studied within the context of changing economic and business conditions. The dynamics of both the local/regional and international/global business context in which the firm operates should be given serious consideration. Further, it could be beneficial to study IHRM within the context of the industry and the firm's strategy and its other functional areas and operations. In taking these perspectives, one needs to use multiple levels of analysis when studying IHRM: the external social, political, cultural and economic environment; the industry, the firm, the sub-unit, the group, and the individual. Research in contextual isolation is misleading: it fails to advance understanding in any significant way (Adler, N.J. and Ghadar, E. 1990. Strategic human resource management: a global perspective. Human Resource Management in International Comparison. Berlin: de Gruyter; Locke, R. and Thelen, K. 1995. Apples and oranges revisited: contextualized comparisons and the study of comparative labor politics. Politics & Society , 23 , 337–367). In this paper, we attempt to review the existing state of academic work in IHRM and illustrate how it incorporates the content and how it might be expanded to do so.     

The Challenge of Integration: A Review of the M&A Integration Literature

The integration of acquired or merging firms is a key driver of the success or failure of mergers and acquisitions (M&As). Over the last 30 years, a substantial body of research has addressed M&A integration, offering rich but widely dispersed insights into this phenomenon. This paper takes stock of the current knowledge, based on a review of articles published in scholarly journals. The review advances the conceptual understanding of the phenomenon by inductively developing an overarching framework for the M&A integration literature, where integration success is a function of context, structural and communication‐based interventions, which interact with collective sensemaking processes and negotiations among integration stakeholders. Based on this framework, a research agenda is suggested. I proposes that, in particular, the interaction between structural interventions and leadership warrants further study. Also, little is known about integration project management and integration team composition or the interaction between integration context and collective sensemaking processes. Finally, there is a shortage of research on temporal dynamics within integration projects. The review demonstrates that M&A scholars made substantial progress regarding our understanding of the M&A integration process, yet much remains to be done.     

Human resources management and corporate governance: Integration perspectives and future directions

The aim of this article is to investigate, through a systematic review of the literature, what has been studied and published in the international academic literature regarding the integration between human resources management (HRM) and corporate governance (CG).We accomplished it answering two research questions: How has evolved the academic publications regarding the integration between HRM and CG? and Under which theoretical perspectives the integration between HRM and CG has been studied? The research covered the publications from 2000 to 2017, and the analysis comprises 79 articles from relevant international journals. The results revealed the predominance of a shareholder theoretical perspective and the apparent legitimation of HRM as an important variable of CG, but with a secondary position, as consultant or processes provider. Besides exploring and exposing the state of the art in this area of knowledge, through a critical analysis of the literature, this study highlights the gaps in the literature and provides suggestions for future studies.     

A review of empirical research on dynamic competitive strategy

Beginning with Chandler's 1962 seminal work, researchers have emphasized that competitive strategy is not a static phenomenon, but rather a sequence of interconnected actions and reactions unfolding over time. This paper reviews the empirical research on dynamic competitive strategy published between 1986 and 2005 in nine leading strategic management journals. An integrated framework is used to showcase the research in terms of antecedents, strategic actions and outcomes. The literature review demonstrates that significant progress has been made in the field of dynamic competitive strategy, and yet that there are still many promising lines of inquiry for future theoretical and empirical research, particularly in the areas of strategic action timing and path dependency.     

知识管理过程对新产品开发绩效的影响研究

知识管理是高动荡外部环境下影响新产品开发成败的决定性因素,本文构建了知识管理过程对新产品开发绩效影响的理论模型,研究了知识管理的基本过程及其对新产品开发绩效的影响,并考察了产品创新性和环境动荡性的调节作用。利用来自中国十一个省市206个新产品开发项目的问卷调查数据进行实证分析。研究结果表明知识获取和知识整合对新产品开发绩效具有显著影响,环境动荡性正向调节知识获取、创造、整合与新产品开发绩效关系,而知识创造对新产品开发绩效的影响不显著,产品创新性对知识获取、创造、整合与新产品开发绩效之间关系的调节影响均不显著。     

Chinese expatriate management in emerging markets: A competitive advantage perspective

Recent research draws attention to the large number of expatriates sent abroad by Chinese multinational corporations (CMNCs), especially to emerging markets. It is generally assumed that their large number, and any competitive advantage this generates, relate predominantly to their low cost, compared to other MNCs' expatriates and/or locally available labour. Our research uses an integrative perspective drawing on the resource-based view (RBV), international human resource management (IHRM) and “country of origin” literature and extensive case-study research on 27 CMNCs in 12 emerging markets. This reveals that the competitive advantage created by Chinese expatriates is closely related to the use of expatriates at both managerial and operational levels. It is achieved through human resource management that exploits their relatively lower cost, higher productivity and hardship tolerance (compared to host or third country counterparts) and their knowledge/resource reconfiguration capability, through a centralised and collective expatriation management system. These together enhance CMNCs' competitive advantage through not only offering cost effective and differentiated products but also transferring the reconfiguration knowledge. This study enhances understanding of the competitiveness of emerging market multinationals (EMNCs) by showing how the competencies, combination and management of their expatriates create a distinct source of competitive advantage. It also advances IHRM research on expatriates by investigating their use from a competitive advantage perspective.     

The moderating effect of product complexity on new product development and supply chain management integration

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether product complexity moderates the impact of integration programs in both new product development (NPD) and supply chain (SC) management on operational performance. Results are based on statistical analyses of data collected from an international sample of manufacturing firms through the fifth edition of the International Manufacturing Strategy Survey (IMSS 5). The main findings are that NPD and SC integration do have an impact on performance, while product complexity alone has not. When considering the moderating effect, complexity has no impact on NPD integration, while there is a negative moderating impact on SC integration. This study bridges together different streams of research, showing how both NPD and SC integration allow managing product complexity while improving performance.     

4 Person–Environment Fit in Organizations: An Assessment of Theoretical Progress

Abstract

Person–environment (P–E) fit is a central concept in organizational behavior research. Historically, reviews of P–E fit research have summarized empirical studies but said little about whether P–E fit research has made theoretical progress. This chapter applies criteria for evaluating theory to review and assess the theoretical status and progress of P–E fit research. The review encompasses P–E fit theories that span nearly a century and cover research on job satisfaction, job stress, vocational choice, recruitment and selection, and organizational climate and culture. This review indicates that most theories in P–E fit research fall well short of criteria for developing strong theory, and theories presented in recent years are no stronger than those developed decades earlier. Reasons for theoretical stagnation in P–E fit research are identified, and ways to promote theoretical progress are discussed.     

Leader development for adolescent girls: State of the field and a framework for moving forward

For most leaders, their first exposure to formal leader development training occurs in adolescence, through school, extra-curricular activities, or youth leader development programs. As with many adolescent experiences, the processes and challenges of leader development are different for girls than they are for boys. With increasing calls to address gender inequity worldwide, adolescent girls' leader development has become an important cross-disciplinary research topic. Though the literature on developing adolescent girls has grown substantially, it is fragmented across disciplines, with a lack of integration and theoretical framing hindering our advancement in knowledge. Therefore, there is a critical need for a comprehensive review article to guide scholars to build an integrated knowledge of how leader development occurs for adolescent girls. We searched for literature relevant to leader and leadership development designed for adolescent girls and reviewed a total of 108 academic papers (2000–2019). We identify and critique five themes in this literature that hold important implications for the leader development of adolescent girls. To advance knowledge, we offer social cognitive theory as a theoretical frame to understand adolescent girls' leader development and provide guidance on future research. Finally, we offer insights on how the processes and practices of adolescent girls' leader development could inform adult leader development.     

Service tasks of board of directors: A literature review and research agenda in an era of new governance practices

In their seminal review article on board of directors, Johnson, Daily, and Ellstrand (1996) distinguished between the control, service, and resource dependence tasks of the board and called for a stronger focus on board service tasks. Following this call, service tasks of boards have been subject to increased scholarly attention, with new theoretical perspectives and methods introduced. This paper aims at presenting the current state of research on board service tasks, departing from, and building on, the contribution of Johnson and colleagues. In doing so, we employ an Input-Process-Output-Context framework and craft an agenda for how future research could accommodate new governance practices and progress the field. Our review is relevant and timely as studies on the subject are gaining traction both in corporate governance and general management journals. Furthermore, our review on board service tasks proposes new alternative approaches to studying corporate governance which are especially appropriate in times in which a rethink of corporate governance frameworks and concepts is urgently needed.     

实践导向的管理理论研究:内涵、机制与成果评价——2011’“中国·实践·管理”论坛观点述评

2011’"中国·实践·管理"论坛以"直面中国的管理实践"为主题,从实践导向的管理研究的内涵、机制和成果评价进行了丰富而有启发性的探讨。论坛强调"中国实践导向的管理理论研究"的价值,认真探索中国情境理论化的方法和实例,达成了源于中国管理实践的理论研究基本共识,呼吁正确评价实践导向的管理理论研究,强化了"直面中国管理实践"的学术导向的影响,期望学术界与实践界的合作更加紧密。     

How can research contribute to the implementation of sustainable development goals? An interpretive review of SDG literature in management

Organizations often face challenges in incorporating the sustainable development goals (SDGs) into their strategic agendas. Despite the availability of guidelines from leading practitioners, such guidance often lacks the scientific insights provided by academia. In this study, we examine the integration of scholarly management literature into practical guidelines for achieving the SDGs. To do so, we first examined nine practitioner guidelines offered by well-reputed consulting firms, multilateral organizations and non-profits, from which we identified four underlying general processes: prioritizing SDGs to the most relevant strategic goals of firms, contextualizing the SDGs to firms’ geographical and industrial contexts, collaborating with other organizations and stakeholders to make more impactful progress and innovating via business process remodelling. Using these four processes as an overarching framework, we then conducted an interpretive literature review to mine highly cited sustainable development-related papers in the management field covering an 11-year period (2010–2020). From these studies, we derived novel connections to all four stages to offer a more robust and scientifically informed process-based framework for SDG adoption. We discuss multiple scholarly implications, including the importance of enhancing knowledge about the various phases of the SDG adoption model, developing research on understudied SDGs, and expanding theoretical and methodological approaches to SDG research. Additionally, we provide a more grounded SDG adoption model with significant practical implications.     

Operations Strategy Research in the POMS Journal

In this paper, we examine the operations strategy literature in the POMS journal to determine what has been learned and to suggest new directions for further study in this important area of research. Our review of this literature resulted in the selection of thirty‐one relevant articles, many of which draw upon multiple theoretical perspectives. We identify eight such theoretical perspectives, and go on to classify these perspectives in terms of the scope of inquiry employed in the research (focused versus aggregated) and the researcher's assumptions about choice processes (behavioral versus rational). In doing so, we show that this body of work is dominated by papers that draw upon theoretical perspectives enabling a more holistic scope of inquiry, with a bias towards a view of strategy as a highly rational process. Building on our systematic review and integration of the literature, we suggest multiple areas for future research.     

Vocabularies and Vocabulary Structure: A New Approach Linking Categories,Practices, and Institutions

Organizational scholars have long used vocabularies, and with the rise of research on language, this work has grown. Yet the research drawing on vocabularies is wide ranging and not integrated. We review work on vocabularies from literatures on rhetoric, culture, cognition, and coordination. We integrate and extend this work on vocabularies, introducing the new concept of vocabulary structure to capture different aspects of vocabulary use that collectively explain how vocabularies yield meaningful categories. We also generate a cross-level model to link work on vocabularies at the level of social collectives with work on vocabulary use in situations. We illustrate the usefulness of vocabularies by showing how they help advance work on institutional logics. Vocabularies offer substantial opportunities for theoretical integration and novel extensions for organizational research and practice.     

ISO 9001 and ISO 14001: Towards a Research Agenda on Management System Standards*

Management system standards, also called meta‐standards, have been adopted by an increasing number of organizations across the world. Although these management system standards are based on the same type of management principles and institutional arrangements, the literature remains scattered, with diverse studies focused on specific standards and published in various journals. The main objective of this paper is to analyse the academic research on meta‐standards through an integrative review intended to shed light on the main conclusions and substantial advances made in this area. This integrative review focuses more specifically on the two main meta‐standards which have been adopted by more than 1.3 million organizations worldwide: ISO 14001 and ISO 9001. The paper contributes insights into the main streams of the literature and current knowledge gaps to be addressed in future research on the various issues related to meta‐standards: global governance, diffusion processes, motivations, benefits of adoption and impacts on performance, internalization, integration, consultancy and auditing.     

Retaining the Productive Employee: The Role of Personality

Abstract

Prior meta-analyses and quantitative reviews have examined the construct-related true-score correlations by personality in predicting important organizational outcomes or have focused on relatively specific, practical problems generally associated with using personality tests in selection. However, there lacks a theoretical integration of major theories developed in the literature. In this review, we propose an integrative research paradigm for personality research by identifying key mediating and moderating mechanisms explaining why, how and when personality traits predict employee work effectiveness. Based on the compatibility principle, we develop a theoretical model to reconceptualize the effect of the five-factor model (FFM) on broadly defined work effectiveness outcomes. We contend researchers have not exploited the breadth of the FFM bandwidth and thus have underestimated the predictive power of personality. In support of our new propositions, we systematically review the almost overwhelming literature by focusing on retaining productive employees, in order to contribute theoretically by identifying a few key generalizable findings and to improve managerial efficiency by uncovering possible “best practices”.