O. Aura, G. Ahonen and K‐E. Sveiby
The paper's aim is, in a framework of intellectual capital (IC), to study the interactions of a worksite fitness program (WFP) policy with a multidisciplinary approach in an…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper's aim is, in a framework of intellectual capital (IC), to study the interactions of a worksite fitness program (WFP) policy with a multidisciplinary approach in an IT‐company of 220 employees.
Design/methodology/approach
In a five years follow‐up setting, the associations of physical activity and the company's worksite fitness policy (WFP) effects on different elements of IC were studied. Qualitative methods were applied in constructing indicators and a scorecard type IC measure.
Findings
In a cross‐sectional and follow‐up setting, several findings with respect to IC were observed regarding physical activity in general and activity in WFP in particular. The findings were relatively strong regarding health‐ and wellness‐related indicators as part of human capital, where also relational capital indicators such as project feedback, revealed positive associations. Overall, WFP was seen to be an integrated part of structural capital.
Research limitations/implications
This case study was carried out in Finland, where the traditions of WFP are relatively long. This will, to some extent, restrict the implications of the results in countries or business cultures where WFP is not general.
Practical implications
The results emphasize first the need for company specific IC measures, and second the importance of humane, soft management procedures (like WFP) in developing a company's IC.
Originality/value
The paper is the first to examine the relations of IC and WFP and will thus provide new insights in developing a company specific IC.
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Currently, sustainable HRM is largely an employer-driven exercise based on raising employee productivity. The purpose of the article is to expand this position by fully mapping…
Abstract
Purpose
Currently, sustainable HRM is largely an employer-driven exercise based on raising employee productivity. The purpose of the article is to expand this position by fully mapping out sustainable HRM and placing employees at the centre of such practices. A further purpose is to provide a research agenda suited to a wider take on sustainable HRM.
Design/methodology/approach
The article centres on an analytical review of extant sustainable HRM literature, plus an analytical review of wider literature considering further ways to sustain employment.
Findings
Employee-centred sustainable HRM goes far beyond what is accounted for in the extant HRM literature. The new map accounts for wider parties to sustainable HRM, including trade unions and self-organised employees. An extensive research agenda is a further key output from the study.
Research limitations/implications
The article is based on a literature review. Follow-up empirical research is required to test out aspects of the new map, as well as address research gaps identified by the review.
Practical implications
The findings have practical implications for HRM and occupational health practitioners, line managers, built environment and ergonomics specialists, governments, trade unions and workplace activists. A key practical implication is the potential to create micro-forms of corporatism, where wider political structures are absent, to foster employee-centred forms of sustainable HRM.
Originality/value
The article is novel in terms of drawing on a wide range of incongruous literature and synthesising the literature into a new map and an extensive research agenda.
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Institutional staff encounter juveniles with complex problems (externalizing and internalizing) which calls for adequate formal education/training and professional experience to…
Abstract
Purpose
Institutional staff encounter juveniles with complex problems (externalizing and internalizing) which calls for adequate formal education/training and professional experience to deliver quality treatment, contributing to an effective organization and increasing public value. The purpose of this paper is to investigate staff's formal education, professional experience and the institutions’ organizational strategies providing knowledge and clinical training to staff.
Design/methodology/approach
The study includes staff questionnaires from eight wards (n=102). In addition, 39 in-depth interviews were conducted with management and staff members.
Findings
Results show that institutions lack clearly defined target groups, 70 percent of staff members lack college education, 30 percent has never been offered education within the organization, and the vast majority of staff does not feel competent in performing their daily work.
Practical implications
The results from this study shed light on an overlooked area in institutions, detention centers and prison settings, and are important to policy makers and governmental organizations responsible for coercive care of juveniles.
Originality/value
Unlike previous studies, treatment and detention organizations are emphasized as similar to manufacturing industry and profit organizations, and the results are discussed with departure in organizational theory.
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The purpose of this paper is to construct a strategy model based on Intellectual Capital (IC) theory and to demonstrate that it is not purely resource‐based (RBV), but includes…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to construct a strategy model based on Intellectual Capital (IC) theory and to demonstrate that it is not purely resource‐based (RBV), but includes many elements that are rooted in the market based view (MBV). The authors' analysis indicates that only strategies which lead to both tangible and intangible revenues are sustainable in a knowledge‐based economy.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper takes the form of an extensive review of IC and strategy literature, and in‐depth comparative analysis of IC concept and the strategy management frameworks, particularly Porter's framework.
Findings
It is found that the IC‐based view (ICBV) is much closer to the MBV than what one would expect and the ICBV is more appropriate for a knowledge‐based economy than both the MBV and the RBV in general.
Originality/value
It is widely assumed that IC theory is strongly related to resource‐based strategy. The authors question this simple view and maintain that the IC‐based view relates to both MBV and RBV.
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The purpose of this paper is to elaborate the feasibility of market based estimations of the value of human capital in firms.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to elaborate the feasibility of market based estimations of the value of human capital in firms.
Design/methodology/approach
The concept of intangible assets and market‐based valuation of human capital is presented. Cases of extreme estimates of human capital values are presented. The possibility of extremely low or even negative human capital values is examined.
Findings
It is demonstrated that odd human capital values can be explained by referring to principles of valuating fixed assets and intangible liability.
Practical implications
The paper demonstrates that market‐based methods for estimating the value of human capital of the firm can be feasible despite the existence of very odd human capital values.
Originality/value
The findings of the paper adds to the discussion of how to valuate human capital in intellectual capital accounts in general and human capital accounts in particular.
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Intellectual capital (IC) management includes various activities that focus on identifying, measuring, controlling and developing the intangible resources of business. As a…
Abstract
Purpose
Intellectual capital (IC) management includes various activities that focus on identifying, measuring, controlling and developing the intangible resources of business. As a concept IC management is still theoretical – the managerial problem is that managers do not know the most appropriate approach for them to operationalise IC management. The purpose of this research is to understand the situation in which a suitable approach to IC management is chosen and factors affecting the choice.
Design/methodology/approach
Factors that may affect choosing the approach to IC management are suggested in light of the literature. In addition, three cases in which a suitable approach to IC management is chosen in practice are examined. The main research method used in the cases is action research.
Findings
The results may provide support when operationalisation of IC management is relevant. The framework presented can be used as a guideline when deciding how to operationalise IC management in one's own organisation. In addition, three examples are given of how IC management can be initiated and why certain choices have been made. Using the framework researchers can improve their models to take better of account various situations.
Originality/value
This paper provides new knowledge about the situation in which a suitable approach to IC management is selected and the factors affecting the choice. The results contribute to the existing discussion on IC management by diminishing the gap between theory and practice.
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The purpose of this paper is to apply a spatial approach to organizational inequality to explore why unequal opportunity structures persist in an organization despite its…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to apply a spatial approach to organizational inequality to explore why unequal opportunity structures persist in an organization despite its commitment to diversity and employing highly skilled ethnic minority employees.
Design/methodology/approach
The (re)production of inequality is explored by linking research on organizational space with HRM diversity management. Data from an ethnographic study undertaken in a Danish municipal center illustrates how a substructure of inequality is spatially upheld alongside a formal diversity policy. Archer’s distinction between structure and agency informs the analysis of how minority agency not only reproduces but also challenges organizational opportunity structures.
Findings
The analysis demonstrates how substructures of inequality stabilize in spatial routines enacted in an ethnic zoning of the workplace and ethnification of job categories. However, the same spatial structures allows for a variety of opposition and conciliation strategies among minority employees, even though the latter tend to prevail in a reproduction rather than a transformation of the organizational opportunity structures.
Research limitations/implications
The reliance on a single case study restricts the generalizability of the findings but highlights fruitful areas for future research.
Practical implications
The study sensitizes HRM practitioners to the situated quality of workplace diversity and to develop a broader scope of HRM practices to address the more subtle, spatially embedded forms of inequality.
Originality/value
Theoretical and empirical connections between research on organizational space and HRM diversity management have thus far not been systematically studied. This combination might advance knowledge on the persistence of micro-inequality even in organizations formally committed to diversity.
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Monika Kansal and Mahesh Joshi
– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the extent of corporate disclosure on human resources (HR) in the annual reports of top performing Indian companies.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the extent of corporate disclosure on human resources (HR) in the annual reports of top performing Indian companies.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper explores the extent to which top 82 companies from India present information about HR in their annual reports. This study examines the annual reports of each of the top Indian firms listed on the Bombay stock exchange, using the “content analysis” method. Statistical tests have been performed to analyse the difference between the HR disclosure score across public and private sectors and disclosure variations among various industrial sectors.
Findings
In-house training programmes has been noticed to be the favourite item of disclosure followed by safety awards/certifications and statements regarding cordial relations with the employees/unions. A majority of the Indian firms have ignored significant HR issues such as employee welfare fund, maternity/paternity leaves, holiday benefits, employee loans and adopting old age homes, etc. Overall, the study reflects low HR related disclosures. No statistically significant difference has been found between the mean HR disclosure from one industry to another and disclosure practices of the private and the public sector companies.
Practical implications
The disclosure pattern of the Indian companies suggests that they only a few companies are concerned about employees’ welfare than the rest. This may motivate a change of the disclosure policy of the rest of the firms who may follow the reporting pattern of the most disclosing ones.
Originality/value
This is first study on the disclosure of HR by the Indian corporate sector in the CSR domain with a disclosure analysis for a period of nine years . This research provides new directions for the literature in this area and may promote comparative studies on HR-based studies from different perspectives.
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Intellectual capital, intangible assets and knowledge creation are all concepts that are strongly linked to the phenomenon of knowledge management. Yet they have only been…
Abstract
Intellectual capital, intangible assets and knowledge creation are all concepts that are strongly linked to the phenomenon of knowledge management. Yet they have only been parallel to each other. This controversy between different approaches has also resulted in vague definitions of knowledge management. This paper will critically discuss the definitions of these concepts. The analysis shows that different concepts actually focus on different angles of the topic. Based on this, a model will be built that ties all of them into a unitary entity. At the same time, this model gives a reconfigured definition of the concept of knowledge management.