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In an effort to counter those who claim that total quality management programmes fail, or are too slow at delivering benefits, demonstrates how Yorkshire Electricity has achieved quick, measurable benefits through its quality management programme. Reviews the company′s tough approach and selected priority projects. Distils a number of key learning points from the company′s activities.

Optimal application and commitment toward financial management practices enhance organization performance. This study aims to assess the influence of financial management practices on the organizational performance of small- and medium-scale enterprises.

Data were collected from 45 small-sized and 72 medium-sized firms. Data supported the hypothesized relationships. Construct reliability and validity were established through confirmatory factor analysis. The conceptual model and hypotheses were evaluated by using structural equation modeling.

The results indicate that working capital significantly influenced organizational performance. Capital budget management significantly influenced organizational performance. A non-significant influence of asset management on organizational performance was observed.

The generalizability of the findings will be constrained due to the research’s SMEs focus and cross-sectional data.

The study’s findings will serve as valuable pointers for stakeholders and decision-makers of SMEs in developing well-articulated and proactive financial management systems to ensure competitiveness, sustainability, viability, and financial competencies.

The study adds to the corpus of literature by evidencing empirically that financial management practices significantly influenced SMEs’ performance.

Small business owners require objective solutions to deal with threats of labour unionisation. This study aims to centre on a novel exploration for improving the leadership acumen of small business owners to address labour unionisation. Specifically, small business owners need a theoretical framework that uses best practices from human resource management (HRM) and industrial relations to provide solutions.

The design, methodology and approach reflect post-modernist epistemological and ontological perspectives for conducting systematic literature reviews. A systematic literature review revealed the relationship between small business owners’ leadership, positive industrial relations and HRM policies and procedures. To identify relevant studies in the review, the utilisation of several databases (EBSCO Database, including PsycINFO and Psych studies; Web of Science) and a mix of ranked journals from entrepreneurship, human resources, leadership and organisational behaviour.

The findings and results in this paper reflect the purpose, methodology and literature analysis culminating in 162,132,000 peer-reviewed studies. A total of 142 peer-reviewed studies met criterion for review. For example, the purpose of this review focused on labour unionisation mitigation for small businesses and HRM solutions. In doing so, the methodology allowed for identification of a novel research topic (i.e. how small business owners mitigate labour unionisation) worthy of further investigation. The sparse findings on labour unionisation mitigation represent small business owners' reticence in creating HRM policies and procedures.

This study contributes research implications for theory and practice by offering small business owners a theoretical framework to address labour unionisation. The framework, centring on HRM solutions, is grounded in social exchange theory to address the novel topic of labour unionisation mitigation in small businesses. This study results suggest that HRM solutions for small business owners provide competitive advantages for employee job satisfaction through a holistic industrial relations approach. In future research, examining other issues discussed in this study can influence the understanding of the relationship between small business owners and industrial relations to increase employee job satisfaction.

This paper analyzes the influence of HR function on organizational performance through the effective deployment of high-performance work practices. Although researchers have examined the relationship between these constructs, extant literature demonstrates contradictory findings. Thus, building on contemporary strategic HRM literature this study expands previous frameworks adopting a system thinking perspective, namely the concept of maturity of HRM system.

It is a cross-sectional study, having collected primary data from 424 managers and employees working in 135 organizations. The research model and hypotheses were tested at unit level using structured equation modelling.

The results support a positive impact of the HR function on perceived organizational performance. Furthermore, demonstrating that the mediation through high-performance work practices is partial, supporting that the HR function has an incremental value over HR practices on organizational performance. Inspired by system thinking, this study tested an integrated model that combines the HRM system, HR function and organizational performance. Overall, it contributes to the literature by providing additional evidence to the influence of HR Function for organizational performance.

The data were collected using a questionnaire at a single point in time, and thus, not allowing cause-effect inferences.

The results provide guidance to organizational leaders interested in designing and implementing effective HRM systems and building successful HR departments.

This study advances the understanding of the mechanisms by which HR function, HR practices and HRM system interact to explain organizational performance. Furthermore, it suggests that organizational decision-makers to benefit the most from high-performance work practices should embedded them on mature HRM systems.

Drawing on the HR technology (HRT) and information systems (IS) literatures, this study seeks to identify macro-level factors that influence the performance of HRT systems. A second objective is to assess the relative contribution that HRT goal realization makes to organizational satisfaction with HR services.

This investigation draws on a web-based survey of 169 US and Canadian firms targeting HR executives as key informants. Structural equation modeling (SEM) tested the roles that organizational support, capabilities and aspects of the environment play in technology goal attainment and collective satisfaction with HR services. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) evaluated the properties of several key scales and supported their usage. Moderated regression analysis further assessed whether HRT age influenced certain relationships.

As predicted, system goal realization was positively related to the level of support from an HRT champion and an HR innovation climate, while being negatively related to HRT mimetic isomorphism. HR service satisfaction, in turn, was positively related to HRT goal realization, the HR innovation climate and HR environmental munificence. It also was determined that HRT champions had a stronger positive impact on goal realization for younger technology portfolios. This too was expected.

External validity would be strengthened by not only increasing sample sizes for the USA and Canada, but also targeting more nations for data collection. The model's explanatory power may also be enhanced by improving the measurement of several predictors (e.g. top management support, absorptive capacity), as well incorporating constructs that focus on users (e.g. group potency, collective efficacy).

These findings underscore the need to proactively screen and structure the surrounding environment to facilitate portfolio success. Greater emphasis must be placed on (1) identifying and empowering HRT champions, (2) fostering an innovation climate in the HR function and (3) conditioning HRT purchases on “mindful” adoption. Doing so should not only increase the prospects of realizing goals, but also elevate satisfaction with HR services.

This is the first study to formally assess the effects that organizational and environmental context have on overall HRT systems performance. Prior research has focused on linking the local conditions of individual users to their perceptions and usage of HR technologies.

Across industries, firms want to adopt data-driven decision-making (DDDM) in various organizational functions. Although DDDM is not a new paradigm, little is known about how to effectively implement DDDM and which problem areas to focus on in these functions. This study aims to enable start-ups to use DDDM in human resources (HR) by studying five HR domains using a narrative inquiry technique and aims to guide managers and HR practitioners in start-ups to enable data-driven decisions in HR.

This study adopts the narrative inquiry technique by conducting semi-structured interviews with HR practitioners and senior members handling HR functions in start-ups. Interview memos are thematically analyzed to identify repeated ideas, concepts or elements that become apparent.

The study findings indicate that start-ups need to have canned operational reports with right attributes in each of these HR domains, which members should use when performing HR tasks. Few metrics, like cost-to-hire in recruitment, distinctly surfaced relatively higher in importance that each start-up, should compute and use in decision-making.

Managers, HR practitioners and information technology implementation teams will be able to consume the findings to effectively design or evaluate HR processes or systems that empower decision-making in a start-up.

Start-ups have a fast-paced culture where creativity, relationships and nimbleness are valued. Prevalent decision models of larger organizations are not suitable in start-ups’ environments. This study, being cognizant of these nuances, takes a fresh approach to guide start-ups adopt DDDM in HR and identify key problem areas where decision-making should be enabled through data.

Two simultaneous trends have arisen in the field of HRM: the development of the human resource (HR) function toward a more strategic, value adding unit and the trend of HR outsourcing (HRO). Opinions are divided in the field of HRM research regarding the interdependences between these two trends and whether the HR function has a positive or negative effect. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to examine the triangular relationship among strategic HR integration, the HR-to-employee ratio and HRO.

This study analyses data from three large evaluations conducted in 14 European countries and compares the results obtained from the 2000, 2005 and 2010 Cranet survey waves. For the hypotheses, a multilevel regression design was used.

The results allow concluding that HRO supports the professionalization of the HR function in an effort to make it a strategic asset.

This study extends prior understandings of the theoretical perspective on HRO and its organizational impact. The sample is nested within 14 European countries and influenced by cultural aspects and institutional factors. These influences could be an exciting avenue for further research.

This paper includes important implications for HR practitioners. The results support a rather optimistic view of the HR function regarding its relationship with HRO and the latter’s impact on the HR-to-employee ratio and strategic HR integration.

The study answers the question: has HRO downsized internal HR staff over the past decade, and how is it related to the strategic integration of the HR function? In this context, this study analyses Cranet data to contribute to the discussion on the development of strategic HR integration and the impact of HRO on such efforts. Moreover, the study examines the influence of HRO on internal HR staff based on the theoretical framework of the resource-based view.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of the Eurozone financial crisis by discussing the experiences of Greece, Ireland and Spain. It particularly examines the influence and actions of the Troika in the management of the sovereign debt crisis in the Eurozone.

The primary source of information for this study has been the documents of the Greek, Irish and Spanish Governments (often only available in their native language) and the reports of EU bodies and the IMF, supplemented by media coverage, as deemed appropriate. This has been analysed on a comparative basis to contrast the experiences of these three countries.

This study reveals how the Eurozone crisis has impacted on financially weak countries in this currency union. The fiscal conservatism of the Troika (the IMF, the EU and the European Central Bank) has had profound consequences for these economies, which have experienced dramatic cuts in public services.

This study has focused on the experiences of three countries in the Eurozone. There is a case for extending this analysis to other Eurozone countries.

There are two approaches to recession – governments can stimulate demand by infrastructure spending or take the financial conservatism route of reducing public expenditure and public sector borrowing. However, the severity of the crisis undermines the first approach and there are uncertain outcomes with the second approach. This paper shows the effects of adopting financial conservatism as a strategy in this crisis.

The austerity programmes pursued by the governments in this study have led to unemployment, migration of skilled workers, collapse in property markets, failing banks and social unrest.

This study takes an accounting perspective on the Eurozone crisis. This offers a distinctive interpretation of events. This study examines the merits of widely used theories in studies of public sector change namely legitimation and resource dependency theory intertwined with power and offers insights into how meaningful they are in explaining the dramatic influence of austerity programmes in the Eurozone.

This paper aims to uncover consumer evaluations of high-priced traditional retail luxury brands and more affordable neo-mass luxury retail brands when they imitate the innovative designs of one another.

Using a scenario inspired by a lawsuit involving admitted copying practices, this study used a one-way (time of product introduction: the traditional luxury brand launches the product design before the neo-mass luxury brand vs the neo-mass luxury brand launches the product design before the traditional luxury brand) between-subjects experimental design to examine the effect of time of product introduction (such that consumers are aware of imitation practices) on brand attitude, brand equity (measured via the dimensions of brand associations, brand image, brand credibility and brand leadership) and brand preference.

Results reveal that consumer awareness of imitation practices is important in determining changes in brand equity, brand attitude and brand preference, regardless of luxury brand type. The research also indicates that consumers evaluate traditional luxury brands that engage in imitation practices more negatively than neo-mass luxury brands that do so.

This research provides a deeper understanding of consumer response to imitation practices, along with managerial insight for luxury brands operating in that sphere. Limitations and future research directions are also offered.

This study appears to be one of the first to investigate imitation practices by using stimuli inspired by a copycat case, and one of few that assesses consumer evaluations of imitation by existing brands.

This chapter considers the values and challenges of a highly embedded participant ethnographic methodology that has evolved over the last four years in the course of two formal ethnographic studies in higher education. The method has been developed by a practitioner-researcher in tandem with the learning design of a new programme. As such, the roots of the method lie very much within the paradigms of heuristics and action research but lend themselves equally well to more formal, extended ethnographic work. The nature of this method raises several interesting, messy and difficult issues that are further explored. The first is the nature of practitioner research and the purpose of participant ethnography in this context. What does it mean for the teacher to concurrently and contemporaneously inhabit the role of researcher? This leads neatly into an exploration of the attendant ethical considerations. Issues of power and positionality must be tackled, and the ability of the researcher to engage in fully reflexive practice and research is key to unpacking this. Who or what is being observed, and from what perspective? Whose experience is really being interrogated – that of the teacher or the student? Finally, as this method has evolved from, and shares much in common with, action research, consideration will be given to the nexus of action research, observation and formal ethnography – both in terms of the participation and contributions of the teacher-researcher to the process and the students, who in effect become auto-action researchers, investigating themselves as learners and their experiences with their peers.