Explaining Labour Turnover: Empirical Evidence from UK Establishments

Abstract. This paper investigates the determinants of labour turnover using establishment‐level survey data for the UK. The main contribution of our paper is that it estimates the impact of wages, unionization, training and other aspects of working conditions on labour turnover. Our main findings are: (i) turnover is inversely related to the relative wage; (ii) unionism reduces turnover: this is due mainly to the ability of unions to improve conditions of work rather than the voice‐exit model of Freeman; (iii) there is a complex relationship between turnover and training; and (iv) turnover is lower in the ‘high‐tech’ sector.     

CEO变更与企业价值关系的实证模型

委托代理理论认为CEO变更是由于代理人没有实现委托人对企业价值的预期,委托人以解除契约的形式来体现其约束机制的威力。为验证委托代理理论对CEO变更与企业价值关系的解释力,基于委托代理理论的两个前提假设,即委托代理关系的成立和企业价值低于股东的预期,构建CEO变更与企业价值关系的Logistic回归模型。选取2005年至2009年中国资本市场发生CEO变更、A股持续经营的上市公司样本,依据样本企业价值和企业性质的不同对Logistic回归模型进行分组检验。研究结果表明,企业价值水平较高时,股东对企业价值的预期通常能够得到满足,导致股东依据企业价值水平变更CEO的可能性较小;民营企业由于公司治理水平较低,CEO与股东之间的委托代理关系不一定成立,这两种情况均会降低委托代理理论对CEO变更与企业价值关系的解释能力,因此仅用委托代理理论来解释CEO变更与企业价值关系具有一定的局限性。     

Turnover turned over: an expanded and positive perspective

The negative impact of turnover is well documented in the literature. This paper examines turnover with a unique, positive focus. Turnover is reviewed, not only from the standpoint of the organizational theorist, but with economic, sociological, and psychological/social psychological perspectives. Often ignored benefits of turnover are noted.     

组织变革期企业的人员流动影响因素的实证研究

人才流失是我国国有企业尤其是组织变革期的企业所面临的重要问题。在回顾国内外有关员工流动主要研究成果的基础上,从个体、组织和社会3个层面,对处于变革期的一家电力企业的人员流动问题进行了实证研究,找出了影响该企业员工流动的11个因素,即年龄、党派、受教育程度、企业工龄、职称等级、所在部门、岗位性质、岗位等级、行政级别、评先进次数和培训次数,可为电力行业类似企业留人政策的制定和创新提供参考。     

政策不连续性与财政效率损失——来自地方官员变更的经验证据

"中国特色联邦主义"、"晋升锦标赛"从财政分权和政治晋升的角度解释中国的增长奇迹,然而无论在哪种机制下,地方官员的更替都会造成地方经济政策的不连续,进而导致资源配置扭曲与财政效率损失。本文首先建立了一套财政效率评价指标体系,利用随机前沿法对1999~2012年31个省份的地方财政效率进行测算,然后搜集了同时期各个地级市党政领导的简历资料,采用地级市官员变更比例作为政策不连续性的代理变量,考察了政策不连续性对财政效率的影响。结果显示:(1)由地方官员变动导致的政策不连续性显著降低了地方的财政效率,这种影响以地级市市长变更最为显著。每有一位市长更替,将导致该省份财政效率下降约0.15个百分点。(2)市长任期对财政效率有U型影响,新市长上任1年内,官员任期对财政效率产生负影响,因为换届过渡时政策不连续最明显,1年后地方财政效率逐步回升。(3)新任市长为快速做出政绩,短期内会实施大量新政,致使政府消费扩大、财政赤字扩张,引致财政效率损失。     

Relationships between Top Management Team Characteristics and International Diversification: an Empirical Investigation*

Drawing on the executive demography and the upper‐echelons perspectives, this paper examines the relationships between top management team (TMT) characteristics (educational level, tenure, age, international experience and functional background) and firm international diversification. The study is based on a sample of 112 relatively large, internationally diversified US‐based firms in the manufacturing sector. Findings indicate that firms with higher levels of international diversification are likely to have TMTs characterized by higher educational level, shorter organizational tenures, younger executives and greater international experience. In addition, findings indicate that the relationships between TMT characteristics and international diversification are more dominant in better‐performing than in lower‐performing firms.     

Cultures have consequences: A configural approach to leadership across two cultures

This research compares the influence of country membership and cultural values (power distance and individualism/collectivism) in a model of LMX and organizational change. The results reveal cultural differences in the relationships among LMX, consultation and affective commitment to organizational change, supporting prior studies. However, there are substantial differences in the moderation of the cultural values in the relationships among the research constructs at the individual level. Our results suggest that understanding national culture and its influence on leadership may be incomplete when we focus only on mean differences at the country level to examine cross-cultural differences. To address this concern, we offer a configural approach to examine the role of culture in a leadership model across two cultures (the U.S. and Korea).     

高管变更与盈余管理——基于应计项目操控与真实活动操控的实证研究

本文将应计项目操控和真实活动操控纳入分析框架,研究上市公司发生总经理变更后的盈余管理行为.理论分析表明,新任总经理在上任当年利用应计项目负向盈余管理可“一举多得”,利用真实活动进行盈余管理却可能会“损公不利己”;而在后续年度利用真实活动正向盈余管理虽会“损公”却可“利己”.以沪深A股上市公司2005-2010年数据为样本进行的实证检验结果显示,在总经理变更当年,上市公司存在利用应计项目调减利润的盈余管理行为,但不存在利用真实活动的盈余管理行为.在新任总经理上任后第一、二个完整会计年度,上市公司存在利用应计项目和真实活动调增利润的盈余管理行为.总经理变更当年,如果董事长也发生变更,则上市公司在变更当年利用应计项目调减利润的程度更大,在变更后第一、二个完整会计年度利用应计项目和真实活动调增利润的程度也显著更大.     

董事会过度自信、CEO变更与公司经营业绩关系的实证研究

以1998～2004年间上海证券交易所和深圳证券交易所发行A股的上市公司中被冠以ST的93家非国有上市公司为研究样本,实证分析董事会过度自信行为对公司经营业绩的影响.经验证据表明,在上市公司经营业绩不好、公司被ST处理的情况下,过度自信的董事会没有及时更换公司CEO,这可能表明这类董事会过高地估计了CEO的经营管理能力给公司所带来的收益,过低地估计了CEO不善的经营管理能力给公司所带来的风险.实证结果说明,诸如过度自信之类的董事会的非理性行为给公司经营业绩带来负面的影响.     

Learning across Communities of Practice: An Examination of Multidisciplinary Work

Communities of practice (CoPs) have been identified as important sites of learning. Novices learn from masters whilst participating in situated practice and becoming more central members of the community. Empirical studies highlight the difficulty of learning across CoPs, although few studies specifically examine how learning develops in such a multidisciplinary context. We examine the processes of learning occurring when members of different CoPs, in this case various cancer specialists, are required to meet together as a formally constituted multidisciplinary team, and to establish multidisciplinary collaboration as a basis for decision making and action. Our paper highlights that while learning in CoPs develops through repetition, gaining legitimacy and achieving mastery, learning across CoPs in multidisciplinary contexts emphasizes key boundary processes to negotiate and broaden meaning. As such, multidisciplinary collaboration is not so much to learn from each others' talk, but to learn to talk in this new arena. We identify three practices which facilitate learning across CoPs: organizing discussions, acknowledging other perspectives and challenging assumptions. We also discuss the boundary processes which are promoted through brokers and the use of boundary objects in facilitating multidisciplinary work.     

Labour Mobility in Italy: An Empirical Investigation

ABSTRACT: In this paper the author presents a model of unemployment inflows and outflows for the Italian labour market. The flows that the author attempts to estimate are the unemployment inflows and outflows from and to employment. The aggregate estimation suggests that a crucial role is played by the aggregate demand and wage variables, and by the structural change variable. The paper also presents intersectoral estimations of SURE, which take into consideration the flows between Industry and Services. The results are along the lines of those obtained at the aggregate level. An important factor which should be underlined, however, is the asymmetric pattern of the wage variable in the industrial and services sector.     

个人-组织匹配、工作满意度与员工离职意向关系的实证研究

从个人-组织匹配的理论视角出发,用实证方法研究企业的个人-组织匹配与工作满意度之间的关系,以及它们对员工离职意向的影响.研究结果表明,个人-组织匹配对工作满意度起到显著正向影响;个人-组织匹配对员工离职意向起到显著负向影响;工作满意度对员工离职意向起到显著负向影响;工作满意度中的2个维度--工作压力满意度和管理因素满意度在个人-组织匹配对离职意向的影响中起中介作用.     

Flexible Work Arrangements and Intentions of Unemployed Women in Cyprus: A Planned Behaviour Model

Drawing from the theory of planned behaviour, we use 18 focus groups with 113 unemployed women and 150 mail questionnaires to explore whether and how unemployed Cypriot women's subjective norms, attitudes, perceived behavioural control and job versus career aspirations influence their intentions to adopt employee‐ and employer‐driven flexible work arrangements. To analyse the information gathered, we used a combination of content analysis, an external panel of practitioners and academics, principal components analysis, and regressions. Results show that women's positive attitudes towards child‐caring and self‐enhancement and their subjective norms of organizational inflexibility were positively related mainly with intentions to adopt employee‐driven flexible work arrangements. Further, women who found childcare support and employer requirements limiting were more interested in telework; the latter were also more interested in temporary work. Finally, women's career aspirations were related with weekend work and telework, whilst their job aspirations were associated with temporary work. Results raise issues for employers and policy‐makers in Cyprus, and possibly other southern European countries facing similar challenges, in supporting women to become fully integrated in the labour market.     

Relationship between Intellectual Capital and Knowledge Management: An Empirical Investigation

Two important streams of the literature have examined intellectual capital (IC) and knowledge management (KM). Surprisingly, they have developed in parallel, without any empirical research on the relationship between them. This article empirically examines how IC and KM affect each other, and also investigates their consequences, viewing three intermediate consequences (dynamic capabilities, efficiency, and innovativeness) to mediate their effects on firm performance. In addition, this article examines the effects of the organization's culture on IC and KM. To address these issues, a comprehensive model is developed and tested using a combination of survey and secondary data of 533 companies in Taiwan. The results support the theoretical model. Major findings include the following: IC affects KM and dynamic capabilities; KM facilitates innovation but not dynamic capabilities or IC; a learning culture facilitates IC and innovation but not KM; firm performance depends on efficiency and innovation, but not directly on dynamic capabilities; and efficiency does not depend on any of the other constructs in the study. The article's implications for research and practice are examined.     

国内零售企业库存水平影响因素的实证研究——基于沪深零售业上市公司的面板数据

本文系统考察了1996～2005年间国内零售企业库存管理现状,发现库存周转率与毛利率无相关关系.与固定资产比重和销售规模显著正相关,相对于销售增长,销售下降时销售增长率对库存周转率的影响更明显;东部地区零售企业库存周转率显著高于中西部地区.开展连锁经营会显著提高百货零售企业的库存周转率,而电器连锁和医药连锁等专业连锁零售企业库存周转率显著低于百货连锁零售企业.此外零售业库存周转率受公司相时于供应商的渠道力量和自身管理水平的显著影响.最后发现国内零售企业库存周转率随年度的变化主要是由宏观经济环境引起的,而不是管理水平的提高所致.     

员工个人特性对组织承诺与离职意愿的影响研究

本论文运用组织行为学的理论,在大量的问卷调查基础上,通过对我国员工的组织承诺和离职意愿的实证分析,揭示了员工的性别、年龄、学历、婚姻状况、户口等人口学特征变量和职位、连续工龄、离职次数、晋升概率、晋升次数等职务相关变量对员工的组织承诺有显著影响。同时,指出员工的组织承诺对离职意愿有显著影响。研究结果对提高员工的组织承诺以及预防员工离职具有一定的借鉴意义。     

人格特质、组织承诺与离职意图关系的实证研究

通过对中国联通安徽分公司131名雇员进行实证分析,考察了个人属性、内外控型人格特质、组织承诺与雇员离职意图的关系。结果发现组织承诺、内外控人格特质对离职意图有显著影响,个人属性中除婚否外,其他属性对离职意图也有显著影响。推测组织承诺将极有可能是个人属性与离职意图间的中介变量,并且对内外控人格特质与离职意图之间的关系具有调节作用。     

New Service Development Competence and Performance: An Empirical Investigation in Retail Banking

What can service firms do to improve their ability to offer new services? In this paper we argue that new service development success results from building a competence in the management of service development resources and routines. We conceptualize new service development competence as a multidimensional, second‐order latent construct that is represented by a system of four interrelated and complementary dimensions: (1) formalized new service development processes, (2) market acuity, (3) new service development strategy, and (4) information technology use and experience. We hypothesize that the growth of new service development competence is related to improved new service development performance. Using structural equations modeling, we analyze survey data from 166 retail banks and report three key empirical findings. First, we show that the four hypothesized dimensions are statistically significant in defining new service development competence. Second, contrary to conventional wisdom in new product development, we find that formalized processes play a lesser role in the success of new service development compared with the other three dimensions. Instead, market acuity—which captures the firm's ability to see the competitive environment clearly and to anticipate and respond to customers' evolving needs and wants—was the most important new service development competence indicator. Finally, we demonstrate the positive effect of new service development competence on new service development performance and show that new service development competence is also significantly related to business‐level performance. Together, our empirical results suggest that complementary benefits arise from the adoption of a more holistic approach to the management of new service development at the program level.     

The Relation between Accounting Conservatism and Corporate Social Performance: An Empirical Investigation

Accounting conservatism and corporate social responsibility have received much attention in the recent literature. The current study draws upon Watts, who recognizes that one role of conservatism is to reduce the likelihood of excess wealth transfers to its stakeholder groups and Post et al., who assert that a key aspect of positive corporate social performance is the (equitable) distribution of corporate wealth. Accordingly, this study empirically investigates and finds a positive relation between conservatism and strong social performance.     

Family Status and Work Attitudes: An Investigation in a Professional Services Firm

To help employees better balance work and family responsibilities, organizations are increasingly offering a variety of work–family programmes. However, anecdotal reports suggest that employees without spouses or children perceive that they receive fewer organizational benefits and bear greater burdens than their married or parent counterparts. By providing a more ‘family‐friendly’ work environment, organizations may foster perceptions of inequity in people without families (single adults without dependent children, SAWDCs), possibly resulting in lower job satisfaction and other work‐related outcomes. Using a sample of 454 employees of a professional services firm, we examined attitudinal differences between individuals with and without families. Findings suggest that SAWDCs and non‐SAWDCS differed in terms of age, organizational level, use of flexible work arrangements and firm tenure. However, we found no differences in hours worked, job involvement, job satisfaction or organizational commitment. Interestingly, SAWDCs had more favourable perceptions of the organization's work–family culture than non‐SAWDCs, suggesting that those who do not utilize family‐friendly benefits view them more favourably than those who actually need or use the benefits. In addition to identifying directions for future research, we offer suggestions for organizations, including taking a more universal approach to benefits to the advantage of all employees.