Transformer in navigation: Diverse government roles for open innovation in China's high-speed rail

Based on a longitudinal case study of China's high-speed rail embedded in the emerging economy context, we focus on what role the government plays and how that matters to open innovation (OI) for competitive advantage. By linking the OI literature with the national political institutions literature to motivate our research question, we propose a statist-based OI view to differentiate diverse government roles, investigating how government adopts roles in a combined way to push OI in stages. Our findings suggest that government is an important strategic decision-maker for OI. Specifically, the government plays various roles as commander, protector, cultivator, and intermediator, reflecting state activism derived from national political institutions, to construct institutional-level OI for domestic OI activities, and inbound and outbound OI across national borders. We find government can deliberately and strategically use its diverse roles in a combined way to push OI for competitive advantage through the industrial evolutionary process over time. Our study contributes to the OI literature and integrates the strategic management literature with the study of OI to provide new insights to explain the origins of competitive advantage from the state perspective.     

How do policy levers shape the quality of a national health system?

Poor quality of care may have a detrimental effect on access and take-up and can become a serious barrier to the universality of health services. This consideration is of particular interest in view of the fact that health systems in many countries must address a growing public-sector deficit and respond to increasing pressures due to COVID-19 and aging population, among other factors. In line with a rapidly emerging literature, we focus on patient satisfaction as a proxy for quality of health care. Drawing on rich longitudinal and cross-sectional data for Spain and multilevel estimation techniques, we show that in addition to individual level differences, policy levers (such as public health spending and the patient-doctor ratio, in particular) exert a considerable influence on the quality of a health care system. Our results suggest that policymakers seeking to enhance the quality of care should be cautious when compromising the level of health resources, and in particular, health personnel, as a response to economic downturns in a sector that traditionally had insufficient human resources in many countries, which have become even more evident in the light of the current health crisis. Additionally, we provide evidence that the increasing reliance on the private health sector may be indicative of inefficiencies in the public system and/or the existence of features of private insurance which are deemed important by patients.     

Factors associated with a positive childbirth experience in Brazilian women: A cross-sectional study

BackgroundHaving a positive childbirth experience is an increasingly valued outcome. Few studies evaluated the women’s satisfaction with childbirth through face-to-face interviews out of the health service environment. The objective of this study was to identify factors associated with a higher level of satisfaction with the childbirth experience among Brazilian women.MethodsThis cross-sectional study involved 287 women giving birth in two hospitals in southern Brazil. Women who gave birth to healthy newborns at term were randomly selected. Face-to-face interviews were conducted 31–37 days after delivery, at the mothers’ homes, using a structured questionnaire. Satisfaction with the childbirth experience was measured using a Likert-type scale ranging from very satisfied to very dissatisfied. Prevalence ratios (PR) were estimated using Poisson regression with robust variance.ResultsFollowing hierarchical multivariate analysis, the following factors remained associated with a higher level of satisfaction with the childbirth experience: being satisfied with antenatal care (PR = 1.30; 95% confidence interval [95%CI] = 1.06−1.59), understanding the information provided by health professionals during labor and delivery (PR = 1.40; 95%CI = 1.01−1.95), not having reported disrespect and abuse (PR = 1.53; 95%CI = 1.01−2.31), and having had the baby put to the breast within the first hour of life (PR = 1.63; 95%CI = 1.26−2.11). No association was observed with type of delivery or hospital status (public or private).ConclusionsA higher level of satisfaction with the childbirth experience is related to satisfactory antenatal care, a non-abusive, respectful, and informative environment during childbirth, and to the opportunity to breastfeed the baby within the first hour of life. In clinical practice, greater attention to these basic principles of care during pregnancy and delivery could provide more positive experiences during birth.     

人才振兴背景下大学生志愿服务乡村缘由和影响因素分析

志愿服务乡村是社会参与人才振兴战略的重要方式,大学生在其中承担着重要角色。“乡愁文化”和“社会理性”是大学生志愿服务乡村缘由所在;性别、年级、学校类型、了解程度和志愿组织对大学生志愿服务乡村有显著影响。大学生志愿服务的着力点在于智力支持且具有文教活动倾向性,但也存在意愿与行动脱节、认知流于表面、能动性不强、缺乏思想引领以及对小微志愿组织的支持缺位等问题。乡愁文化嵌入大学文化、引入激励机制、打造志愿组织“大家庭”、牢守宣传育人“主阵地”、强化智力支持优势、补齐理论技能短板、关爱“小微组织”成长、构建“三位一体”支撑体系等可有效优化大学生志愿服务乡村。     

Leader-member exchange as a linking pin in the idiosyncratic deals - Performance relationship in workgroups

In the current investigation, idiosyncratic deals (i-deals; individualized work arrangements) are modeled as differentiated resources that shape leader-member exchange (LMX) relationships in workgroups. We integrate literature on leader-member exchange (LMX) with research on i-deals to argue that employee evaluations of i-deals received from the grantor –typically the leader- enhance employee perceptions of LMX, which in turn become instrumental in generating positive performance outcomes. Furthermore, because workgroup characteristics have potential implications on the relationship between a deal grantor and the deal recipient, drawing upon social identity theory of leadership, we reason that the i-deals-LMX relationship is affected by the overall value congruence among the group members. Cross-level moderated mediation analyses on multi source data obtained from 289 employees nested in 60 workgroups showed that the mediational role of LMX in the i-deals to performance outcomes relationship was weaker in high value congruence groups.     

Engaging leader – Engaged employees? A cross-lagged study on employee engagement

The goal of this study is to provide a cross-lagged examination of the relationships between engaging leadership, job resources and employee work engagement. We propose a mediation model and we postulate that engaging leadership can increase perceptions of three specific job resources (i.e. autonomy, support from colleagues and opportunities for learning and development) which theoretically correspond to the three facets of engaging leadership (i.e., inspiring, connecting and strengthening, respectively). Subsequently, in keeping with the extant body of Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) research, we link job resources to employee work engagement. Our hypotheses were tested on data collected at two time-points – T1 (N = 759) and T2 (N = 273) –from employees working for a hotel chain in the Netherlands. In line with our expectations, engaging leadership showed a significant cross-lagged relationship with autonomy and support from colleagues, but did not predict learning opportunities and work engagement across time. While we formulated specific hypotheses, we also tested reversed causation relationships. We found no direct effect from engaging leadership on employee work engagement, however, the reversed effect was significant; employee perceptions of engaging leadership were shaped by their own engagement experiences. Importantly, engaged employees at T1 reported more job resources at T2. By providing a cross-lagged examination of our model, we showed that engaging leaders as well as employees’ positive affective state of being engaged, are essential to shaping a resourceful work context. A comprehensive view on the triggers and outcomes of work engagement and engaging leadership is needed, as the traditional unidirectional cause-effect rationale fails to explain how these concepts relate to one another and to employee experiences of job resources.     

基于FESA/TRIZ的机械产品创新设计方法

机械产品的设计一直注重于市场需求和产品功能的开发，随着科学和技术的发展，环境因素变得越来越重要。 提出一种基于功能一环境一结构分析( FESA)与TRIZ的机械产品创新设计方法，通过分析机械产品结构之间的功能要素 以及功能要素与环境要素的相互作用关系，确定机械产品中存在的问题。建立根原因模型图，寻找结构设计上的不足和 缺陷，利用TRIZ创新理论来实现机械产品的改进创新。通过污水处理系统的创新设计实例验证了该方法的可行性。     

农户地权诉求视角下农地制度的创新

目前我国农户的地权诉求已经发生了很大的变化，即由地权稳定、自主经营向农地资源的优化配置和高效利用转化。这一变化的内在动力是农户急切希望改变承包地过于细碎化以及改善农业生产经营基本条件。考察我国农地制度的发展史可以发现，我国农地制度变迁的基本逻辑就是农户的地权诉求决定农地制度的发展方向，这一点在当下一些地方的农地制度创新试验和经验中再次得到证明。今后我国农地制度创新必须遵循这一逻辑，根据我国农户地权诉求的变化，实施农户自愿前提下的承包地连片重划,争取国家对承包地重划制度的支持,强化农民集体民主决策制度,地方政府也要给予必要的支持。     

中国特色社会主义制度自信：基本依据·价值意蕴·实现路径

中国特色社会主义制度是立足世情、国情、民情和党情建立起来的制度体系。从历史选择到制度实践构成了我们在新时代夯实制度自信的基本依据；从共同富裕到人的全面发展彰显了制度自信特有的价值意蕴。站在新的发展阶段，既需要大胆借鉴古今中外制度建设的有益成果，又务必坚持在实践基础上以理论创新推动制度创新，以制度借鉴、制度实践和制度创新进一步坚定制度自信。