Human Systems Management - Volume 37, issue 2

Authors: Warner, Malcolm | Zhao, Shuming

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: This article presents an overview of the specific roles that business knowledge transfer, indigenization and human-development resource management (HDRM) play in the People’s Republic of China. By comparing American, Japanese and Soviet business and management theory and practice, the article analyzes exogenous and indigenous influences through time on China’s HDRM, in terms of their historical roots, as well as by presenting possible explanations for national adaptations to cultural, institutional and legal norms. The study views the impact of business-knowledge transfer on Chinese HDRM theory and practice as a dynamic process, leading to the evolution of a ‘hybrid’, indigenized national HDRM …framework, still unfolding. Despite the study’s qualifications, the article offers recommendations for future research. Show more

Keywords: China, exogenous, human relations, human-development resource management, indigenisation, knowledge-transfer, scientific management

DOI: 10.3233/HSM-17246

Citation: Human Systems Management, vol. 37, no. 2, pp. 151-160, 2018

Authors: Usman, Muhammad | Xiao, Shufang | Li, Weiwei

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: This study empirically examines the effects of full-time employees’ stock options and their share ownership on innovation. Based on data gleaned from 284 firms among China’s innovative industries, we test four hypotheses via fixed-effect regression, applied to unbalanced panel data over the time period of 2009–2014. The results show that both full-time employees’ stock options and their share ownership positively effects innovation. And said positive effects persist across business-enterprise ownership, as opposed to state- owned organizations. The study provides insightful knowledge of the roles that full-time employees’ stock options and their share ownership play in innovative industries. While ownership could …be a crucial innovation determinant, besides its qualifications, the study also offers policymaking guidelines for practice as well as implications for future research. Show more

Keywords: Full-time employees, stock options, stock ownership, patent, ownership types

DOI: 10.3233/HSM-17231

Citation: Human Systems Management, vol. 37, no. 2, pp. 161-168, 2018

Authors: Smondel, Aymen

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: The decision-making processes seen in business enterprises and other social organizations, often entail soft data and information. Such is a situation regarding the banking industry in France, where soft information plays a vital role in the decision-making processes that grant credit to small and medium enterprises (SMEs). This article assesses how soft information reduces SMEs credit rationing. Based on a questionnaire sent to SMEs’ in France, the study’s sample consists of 296 companies that had applied for credit. The results show that the integration of soft information into the bank’s decision-making process can significantly reduce SMEs credit rationing. Scores tend …to replace bankers and their analysis. Nevertheless, this article points out the importance of information resulting from relationships not considered in ratings. More generally, this work motivates organizations to use computerisation as complementary tools and not as substitute to human experience. Show more

Keywords: Credit rationing, SMEs, bank-SME relationship, soft information

DOI: 10.3233/HSM-17180

Citation: Human Systems Management, vol. 37, no. 2, pp. 169-180, 2018

Authors: Li, Huashan | Tian, Guyang | Tian, Yezhuang

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: This article addresses the performance implication of servitization and the configuration of servitization and organizational characteristics. We propose hypotheses regarding the relation between two types of servitization (basic services vs. advanced services) and firm performance, and how organizations’ decision-making features moderate these relations. Hypotheses are tested based on a survey of 931 plants from 22 countries. The results show that the advanced services (ADS) improve market, financial, and operational performance, while the basic services (BAS) only improve market performance. In addition, the positive relation between the ADS and firm performance is stronger in organizations with a participative and decentralized decision-making …process. Show more

Keywords: Servitization, organizational characteristics, basic services, advanced services

DOI: 10.3233/HSM-18302

Citation: Human Systems Management, vol. 37, no. 2, pp. 181-193, 2018

Authors: Baloch, Muhammad Awais | Meng, Fanchen | Bari, Muhammad Waseem

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: Organizational studies uphold the association between information technology (IT) capability and organizational agility. However, this relation often yields mixed and inconclusive results. This study establishes the links among firms’ operational dynamic capability (OPDC), organizational agility and IT capability. Through snowball-sampling technique, data are collected from 298 respondents in the innovative sector of China. The data are analyzed using partial least squares (PLS) and the statistical technique PROCESS. The empirical evidence supports the mediating role that OPDC plays in the relation between IT capability and organizational agility. Moreover, the study identifies the positive moderating role of environmental dynamism in reinforcing the …relation between IT capability and OPDC. The results can guide policy makers to enhance IT capability that enables OPDC, thereby leading to increased organizational agility. The study also provides avenues for future research. Show more

Keywords: Information technology capability, operational dynamic capabilities, environmental dynamism, organizational agility, PLS-SEM

DOI: 10.3233/HSM-17150

Citation: Human Systems Management, vol. 37, no. 2, pp. 195-206, 2018

Authors: Ashraf, Rana Umair | Hou, Fujun | Kirmani, Syed Ali Ashiq | Ilyas, Muhammad | Zaidi, Syed Anees Haider | Ashraf, Muhammad Saeed

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: To assess the current situation of collaborative university-industry (U-I) linkages in Pakistan, a questionnaire was disseminated to both public and private universities and industries, checking the propensity for such linkages. The results show multiple constraints imposed on collaborative U-I linkages from both sides. Factor analysis allows comparing whether both universities and industries identify the same constraints or not. Apparently, engineering departments exhibit more collaborative U-I linkages than other disciplines, while humanities departments are awarded the minimum of such linkages. The paucity of proper arrangements, procedures, mechanisms, and structures for collaboration seems to be one of the most important impediments to …collaborative U-I linkages. Furthermore, on the one hand, university people see the lack both of time, owed to a heavy workload, and of laboratory facilities for research and development work, as predominant constraints to U-I interactions. On the other hand, industry people cite as prominent barriers the low commercialization potential of university research and the lack of interest among academics to collaborate with the industry. Despite its qualifications, the study concludes with practical policymaking recommendations and future research suggestions. Show more

Keywords: University-industry linkages, constraints, improvements, Pakistan

DOI: 10.3233/HSM-17236

Citation: Human Systems Management, vol. 37, no. 2, pp. 207-218, 2018

Authors: Ashraf, Rana Umair | Hou, Fujun | Kirmani, Syed Ali Ashiq | Ilyas, Muhammad | Zaidi, Syed Anees Haider | Ashraf, Muhammad Saeed

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: The purposefulness of this research is to identify the university-industry (U-I) activities and linkages that enhance student skills and employability. Gleaned from Pakistan, data were collected and analyzed from 405 students and faculty members, from the COMSATS Institute of Information Technology and employees from pesticide companies. The Mann Whitney U-test and the Kruskal-Wallis test help identify crucial U-I activities and linkages that enhance student skills and employability. The results show that internships and particularly international ones, along with stipends are most pertinent, especially in developing countries. Also important are joint projects, along with industrial involvement in curriculum development. Despite its …qualifications, the research contribution is significant, as a few studies conducted in Pakistan can truly help policymakers in the development of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project. Show more

Keywords: University industry linkages, student employability skills, pesticide industry, Pakistan

DOI: 10.3233/HSM-18269

Citation: Human Systems Management, vol. 37, no. 2, pp. 219-232, 2018

Authors: Zameer, Hashim | Wang, Ying | Yasmeen, Humaira | Mofrad, Amirhossein Akhavan | Waheed, Abdul

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: This article expands current knowledge by assessing how employee engagement is transformed into corporate image and customer satisfaction. Unexplored in earlier studies, the article undiscloses the role that service quality plays in this transformation. Developed through an extensive literature survey, the conceptual model is empirically tested, with survey data collected from 261 customers and 261 managerial employees. The results show that, first, focusing on employee engagement can both lead to a favorable corporate image and enhance customer satisfaction. Second, service quality has a significant positive effect both on customer satisfaction and on corporate image. Third, service quality positively mediates the …relations among employee engagement, customer satisfaction and corporate image. The article concludes with the study’s qualification, plus some practical and theoretical implications, suggesting future research directions. Show more

Keywords: Employee engagement, service quality, corporate image, banking, services

DOI: 10.3233/HSM-17174

Citation: Human Systems Management, vol. 37, no. 2, pp. 233-248, 2018

Authors: Abdurohim, Dindin | Susila, Yanti

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) play a crucial role in the economyof Cigondewah, Bandung, West Java, Indonesia. The issues that small-scale garment business owners face include employment, location, marketing and technology. Their main concern is, however, organizational capability development. This research used descriptive explorative research, based on the use of qualitative and inductive approaches. It focused on apparel small businesses and pertinent stakeholder groups, at the Cigondewah center, in Bandung. Research participants were selected based on the essential role they play in organizational capability development. Data collection involved interactive interviews, participatory observations and the examination of related documents. After separating …endogenous capability-development indicators from exogenous influences, the results show that apparel small businesses at the Cigondewah center do not develop the professional business skills necessary for their survival and prosperity. The theoretical implications relate to organizational capability-building theory, including both its internal and its external features. The practical implications show opportunities for apparel small-scale business enterprises to enhance their entrepreneurial competence, and the vital role that governance plays in facilitating firms’ self-development capability. Show more

Keywords: Organizational, capability, small scale business development

DOI: 10.3233/HSM-17130

Citation: Human Systems Management, vol. 37, no. 2, pp. 249-253, 2018

Authors: Warner, Malcolm

Article Type: Book Review

DOI: 10.3233/HSM-170881

Citation: Human Systems Management, vol. 37, no. 2, pp. 255-256, 2018