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- Andersén, Jim, et al.
(författare)
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The relationship between employee well-being and firm performance : A resource-based analysis
- 2012
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the 12th Annual Hawaii International Conference on Business. - : Hawaii International Conference on Business. ; , s. 719-724
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Enhancing the wellbeing of employees is a key feature of human resource management (HRM) and numerous HRM-practices to strengthen the wellbeing of co-workers have been developed. Although the benefits for the employees of such practices are obvious, the relationship between employee wellbeing and firm performance is unclear. In order to strengthen this relationship some studies have extended the concept of firm performance by including additional "soft" dimensions of performance. However, investing in wellbeing is, of course, associated with costs and several scholars argue that investments in the wellbeing of employees can be regarded as any other investment and from an owner's perspective it is essential to get a return on the investment. In the field of strategic HRM (SHRM), some attempts have been made to analyze the relationship between wellbeing, firm resources and firm performance. Most studies have, however, focused on the relationship between specific HRM-activities and firm performance or certain aspects of resource features. For example, how the wellbeing of employees can enhance the retention of human resources or how wellbeing can stimulate intrapreneurship and thereby generate short-term increases in profits. Thus, few studies have analysed the relationship between wellbeing, competetive advantages and performance from a holistic approach. Consequently, in this paper we present a resource-based analysis of the relationship between the wellbeing of employees and firm performance. We present three propositions regarding the relationship between wellbeing, resources and firm performance. These propositions illustrate the complexity of the relationship by discussing why wellbeing can enhance as well as reduce firm performance.
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| 2. |
- Abraha Gebrekidan, Desalegn
(författare)
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Establishment Processes in the Traditional, Complex and Fast Developing Emerging Economy : The Case of Swedish Firms in China
- 2012
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the 2012 International Conference on Marketing Studies (ICMS2012). - : academic-journal.org.
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Applying a qualitative case-study method this article examines the establishment processes of IKEA and HELDING Share Company (HSC). The findings show that establishment in China is a complex, time and resources consuming process. This is because the Chinese culture makes it a pre-requisite to build social networks of harmonious interpersonal relationships, i.e. guanxi_to achieve success. The rules are changing continuously and there is an excessive involvement of the authorities in the economic activities in the market. It thus takes time and consumes enormous resources to understand the problems and to develop strategies to achieve success in establishments. IKEA and HSC developed interpersonal networks (guanxi) with the JV partners and the various influential people (facilitators) in the different phases of establishments. The developed guanxi enabled the two firms to understand and to handle; the cultural constraint, the complicated and continuously changing legal system, the bottlenecks in authorities relationships, the most complex and time consuming bureaucratic structures, the unique style of negotiations, to get operations and import license, license for the land for running the business and to get various types of assistance in the network development.
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| 3. |
- Oudhuis, Margareta, et al.
(författare)
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Standardization and self-management : a solvable dilemma?
- 2012
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Ingår i: the 6th Nordic Working Life Conference. - : The Danish National Centre for Social Research.
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this paper we discuss important aspects of the perceived problematic relationship between self-management and standardization. The paper presents data from three case-studies conducted within manufacturing companies in Sweden, where the popularity of lean production has led to a renaissance for short-cycle and standardized assembly work in settings that traditionally have made use of socio-technical production design. The main argument of the paper is that it is possible to combine self-management principles with lean production and standardization if 1) the implementation of lean is done with a contextual sensitivity, 2) if a balance is reached between the use of detailed standards on one hand and work enrichment on the other and 3) if a feeling of ownership as regards both implementation and production process is upheld among the production personnel. This in turn can be achieved if the pre-occupation with kaizen (continuous improvement) is supplemented with the implementation of the concept of heijunka (well-balanced production).
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