The purpose of this paper is to study the evolution of Chinese industrial relations after the market reform of 1978, while basing its arguments and conclusion on analysis of the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study the evolution of Chinese industrial relations after the market reform of 1978, while basing its arguments and conclusion on analysis of the interactions of key actors in the labour arena in China. The significant phenomena in the evolution of industrial relations are the coming of transnational capital and the emergence of self‐organising protests by migrant workers.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper uses a case study approach.
Findings
The Labour Contract Law and the local political economy experience strong effects from TNCs and other business players. Meanwhile, globalisation has introduced the civil society movement to China, which has given rise to an increasing number of NGOs working for labour rights. Tight financial and technical connections between grassroots NGOs and international donor organisations make it possible for bottom‐up labour activities to counteract the unilateral influence of the state and market over the Chinese workforce. Since the ACFTU, the official trade union umbrella, has many institutional constraints to undertake a thorough transition towards labour in the near future, workers' representation is diversified.
Originality/value
One implication for further theoretical studies is that tripartism cannot fully disclose the reality of Chinese labour, and that labour representation derives from both unions and self‐organisation of workers, such as NGOs, which opens more room for the entrenchment of the grassroots labour movement to sustain the balance of power among the state, ACFTU, firms, international market forces and individual workers in the long term.
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Air pollution poses a significant global threat to both human health and environmental stability, acknowledged by the World Health Organization as a leading cause of…
Abstract
Air pollution poses a significant global threat to both human health and environmental stability, acknowledged by the World Health Organization as a leading cause of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and a notable contributor to climate change. This chapter offers a comprehensive review of the impacts of air pollution on health, highlighting the complex interactions with genetic predispositions and epigenetic mechanisms. The consequences of air pollution to health are extensive, spanning respiratory diseases, cardiovascular disorders, adverse pregnancy outcomes, neurodevelopmental disorders, and heightened mortality rates. Genetic factors play a pivotal role in shaping individual responses to air pollution, influencing susceptibility to respiratory illnesses and the severity of symptoms. Additionally, epigenetic changes triggered by exposure to pollutants have been linked to respiratory health issues, cancer development and progression, and even transgenerational effects spanning multiple generations. As countries, including the UK, pursue ambitious targets for reducing emissions, ongoing research into the complex interplay of air pollution, genetics, and epigenetics is essential. By unravelling the underlying mechanisms and advancing preventive and therapeutic strategies, we can protect public health and promote sustainable environmental practices in the face of this pervasive global challenge.
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The purpose of this paper is to explore China’s labour dispute arbitration system reform through analysing the degree to which it has attained its stated objectives – notably…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore China’s labour dispute arbitration system reform through analysing the degree to which it has attained its stated objectives – notably, independence, justice, efficiency and professionalism – from the perspectives of the arbitrators, previously ignored in research on China.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper used a mixed research method using questionnaires and interviews. Questionnaires were sent to all full-time labour dispute arbitrators in Beijing, China with a useable response rate of 71 per cent. Additionally, qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with 24 key stakeholders involved in the arbitration process.
Findings
Instead of establishing an impartial platform, the arbitration system endeavours to promote the state’s capacity to rule over labour relations. Its recent reform excluded arbitrational independence owing to concerns about reducing the Chinese Communist Party’s arbitrary power. Arbitrational justice was perceived to improve through case resolution efficiency, which made arbitrators minimise arbitration time, partly because of high caseloads but largely because of their key performance indicators. Quality of arbitration was compromised. The arbitrators understood the spaces and boundaries of the reform, and focused on increasing professionalism to enable them to more fluidly manoeuvre between the different political economic interests, above safeguarding labour rights.
Research limitations/implications
The questionnaire size was too small for regression analysis. Future research should expand the sample sizes and conduct cross-regional studies.
Practical implications
In 2008, China undertook an arbitrational system reform – probing its practical influence contributes to the authors understanding about the changing institutional environment of Chinese labour relations.
Originality/value
As a pilot study on labour dispute arbitrators, this research presents the dynamics of the Chinese labour dispute resolution mechanism.
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Drawing its arguments and conclusion from a ten-year survey on workers’ experiences of labour disputes, along with anticipation of trade union reform, the purpose of this paper is…
Abstract
Purpose
Drawing its arguments and conclusion from a ten-year survey on workers’ experiences of labour disputes, along with anticipation of trade union reform, the purpose of this paper is to discuss the interaction between labour resistance and its potential for institutional change in the field of labour relations in China.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses a longitudinal cohort study carried out between 2006 and 2015. The survey was conducted every two years, specifically in 2006, 2008, 2011, 2013 and 2015, in Guangdong Province, China. Questionnaire and interview methods were used; 2,166 valid sample questionnaires were collected, and 215 interviews were carried out over the research period.
Findings
An increase in collectivized disputes in China has given rise to an escalation of labour action, characterized by wildcat strikes. Joint action has strengthened the bonds among work colleagues, and it has become more important for workers to pay attention to their rights and interests. In terms of organization, two viewpoints towards union reform were revealed: the pragmatist and the idealist perspectives. Workers with greater experience of resistance were more modest in terms of demands for union reform, while workers with some experience called for their union’s independence from the party-state.
Research limitations/implications
The data contained industry bias, as too many respondents were from electronics-manufacturing and textile and apparel plants.
Originality/value
This paper is original, and increases awareness of the development of the labour movement in China.
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Wei Wang and Man-Yee Kan
Purpose: Premarital cohabitation has increased dramatically in China in the last few decades. Past studies have suggested that education is positively associated with premarital…
Abstract
Purpose: Premarital cohabitation has increased dramatically in China in the last few decades. Past studies have suggested that education is positively associated with premarital cohabitation in China, but how this association changes over time when cohabitation grows from a marginal phenomenon to a popular choice remains unknown. This chapter investigates the changes in the association between education and premarital cohabitation among married individuals in post-reform China.
Design/methodology/approach: Using pooled data from the China Family Panel Studies (2010–2016), logistic regressions are carried out to compare the association between education and premarital cohabitation across three marriage cohorts: 1981–1992, 1993–2001, and 2002–2016.
Findings: Results show that opposite to trends in many Western countries, the positive association between education and premarital cohabitation has not decreased but instead strengthened over time in China. This trend is more consistent for women than men.
Research limitations/implications: The pathways through which education influences cohabitation have not been examined. Moreover, the scope of this research is limited to married individuals and does not include cohabiting experiences that do not lead to marriage. Future research may address this issue when such data become available.
Originality/value: This chapter for the first time examines how the association between education and premarital cohabitation changes over time across different marriage cohorts and whether the diffusion process has happened like what has been observed in Western countries. The findings suggest that China is developing different patterns and trends of demographic changes because of its unique institutional and cultural context.
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Yanmei Yang, Hongsheng Su and Kan Wang
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the reliable and steady working conditions of train agent systems while connected to the internet. The train agents can provide more…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the reliable and steady working conditions of train agent systems while connected to the internet. The train agents can provide more accurate assistant navigation service and more useful “live” information service to ensure traveling crane safety. However, all these services seriously rely on reliability and stability of communication quality of the train agents. To ensure the stable and continuous work of the train agents, the stochastic model of the train agent communication is investigated in this paper.
Design/methodology/approach
According to Markov theory, the stochastic model of the train agent communication is established, the reliability of which is also investigated, the availability and mean‐link interruption times in steady state are then given out.
Findings
In the end, the steady working condition and controllability of the train agents are discussed.
Research limitations/implications
The correctness of the mathematic model in the main limitation based on which the model will be applied.
Practical implications
A very useful model for the train agent systems description.
Originality/value
From the angle of stochastic model, the steady working condition and controllability of the train agent are given out connected to the internet. It has enormous instruction significance to those special mobile agents design such as the train agents, the plane agents, the ship agents, etc.
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Cong Li, Gongxu Lan, Guitao Zhang, Peiyue Cheng, Yangyan Shi and Yangfei Gao
This paper aims to focus on corporate social responsibility in relation to economic policy uncertainty in mergers and acquisitions (M&A). The following questions are addressed…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to focus on corporate social responsibility in relation to economic policy uncertainty in mergers and acquisitions (M&A). The following questions are addressed: How does policy uncertainty impact corporate M&A? Does social responsibility play a mediating role in this process? How does policy uncertainty affect corporate M&A through social responsibility?
Design/methodology/approach
This paper selects the major M&A events in China as the research object, and uses the Probit model to analyze the impact of policy uncertainty on M&A behavior and the business performance after the event, and further analyzes the internal mechanisms that cause these phenomena.
Findings
This paper shows that the higher the policy uncertainty, the lower the probability of a successful M&A, and the worse the business performance of the business after the event.
Originality/value
This paper provides useful reference for the study of M&A and social responsibility in different policy environments. At the same time, it provides direct empirical evidence to enhance the success rate of M&A.
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Hannes Velt and Rudolf R. Sinkovics
This chapter offers a comprehensive review the literature on authentic leadership (AL). The authors employ a bibliometric approach to identify, classify, visualise and synthesise…
Abstract
This chapter offers a comprehensive review the literature on authentic leadership (AL). The authors employ a bibliometric approach to identify, classify, visualise and synthesise relevant scholarly publications and the work of a core group of interdisciplinary scholars who are key contributors to the research on AL. They review 264 journal articles, adopting a clustering technique to assess the central themes of AL scholarship. They identify five distinct thematic clusters: authenticity in the context of leadership; structure of AL; social perspectives on AL; dynamism of AL; and value perceptions of AL. Velt and Sinkovics assert that these clusters will help scholars of AL to understand the dominant streams in the literature and provide a foundation for future research.
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Honglei Li, Hongyu Wang, Ziyu Yang and Changwei Guo
In the field of digital entrepreneurship, achieving high growth in digital start-ups is crucial. This paper aims to explore how causal conditions at the individual, organizational…
Abstract
Purpose
In the field of digital entrepreneurship, achieving high growth in digital start-ups is crucial. This paper aims to explore how causal conditions at the individual, organizational and environmental levels interact in the growth process of digital start-ups. Furthermore, it uses a configurational approach to conduct a holistic analysis of the cross-level interaction mechanisms that enable digital start-ups to achieve high growth.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on a holistic perspective, the data collection included 57 representative cases of digital start-ups in China in the past decade (2014–2023). A fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis was conducted to explore the cross-level interaction mechanism of the three-dimensional causal conditions of the environment, organization and individual entrepreneurs on high growth among digital start-ups.
Findings
This study found three models for digital start-ups to achieve high growth. These models − the resource network orchestration model, the innovation resource development model and the entrepreneurial spirit coherence model, respectively, reflect the multiple paths of high growth achieved by various digital start-ups based on their entrepreneurial environment, organizational capability and the personality of the founder. This reflects that digital start-ups face different conditions and entrepreneurial situations, with differing cross-level interaction mechanisms for achieving high growth.
Practical implications
First, digital start-ups should focus on strengthening their digital resource integration capabilities to lay the foundation for their subsequent high-growth path selection. Second, entrepreneurs need to adopt a holistic perspective to change or strengthen the causal conditions required to achieve high growth. Third, emphasis should be placed on the coherence between the entrepreneur’s need for achievement and the internal entrepreneurial culture.
Originality/value
First, this study contributes to the literature on high growth among digital start-ups by introducing a cross-level interaction mechanism comprising environmental, organizational and entrepreneurial causal conditions. Second, it reveals that individual factors at the environmental, organizational and entrepreneurial levels are not necessary conditions for high entrepreneurial growth and that digital resource integration capabilities play a more universal role in achieving high digital start-up growth. Finally, the study provides a cross-level holistic explanation of how digital start-ups can achieve high growth and reveals various configuration models conducive to high growth, thus offering practical insights for businesses.
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Amir Hossein Hosseinian and Vahid Baradaran
The purpose of this research is to study the Multi-Skill Resource-Constrained Multi-Project Scheduling Problem (MSRCMPSP), where (1) durations of activities depend on the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to study the Multi-Skill Resource-Constrained Multi-Project Scheduling Problem (MSRCMPSP), where (1) durations of activities depend on the familiarity levels of assigned workers, (2) more efficient workers demand higher per-day salaries, (3) projects have different due dates and (4) the budget of each period varies over time. The proposed model is bi-objective, and its objectives are minimization of completion times and costs of all projects, simultaneously.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper proposes a two-phase approach based on the Statistical Process Control (SPC) to solve this problem. This approach aims to develop a control chart so as to monitor the performance of an optimizer during the optimization process. In the first phase, a multi-objective statistical model has been used to obtain control limits of this chart. To solve this model, a Multi-Objective Greedy Randomized Adaptive Search Procedure (MOGRASP) has been hired. In the second phase, the MSRCMPSP is solved via a New Version of the Multi-Objective Variable Neighborhood Search Algorithm (NV-MOVNS). In each iteration, the developed control chart monitors the performance of the NV-MOVNS to obtain proper solutions. When the control chart warns about an out-of control state, a new procedure based on the Conway’s Game of Life, which is a cellular automaton, is used to bring the algorithm back to the in-control state.
Findings
The proposed two-phase approach has been used in solving several standard test problems available in the literature. The results are compared with the outputs of some other methods to assess the efficiency of this approach. Comparisons imply the high efficiency of the proposed approach in solving test problems with different sizes.
Practical implications
The proposed model and approach have been used to schedule multiple projects of a construction company in Iran. The outputs show that both the model and the NV-MOVNS can be used in real-world multi-project scheduling problems.
Originality/value
Due to the numerous numbers of studies reviewed in this research, the authors discovered that there are few researches on the multi-skill resource-constrained multi-project scheduling problem (MSRCMPSP) with the aforementioned characteristics. Moreover, none of the previous researches proposed an SPC-based solution approach for meta-heuristics in order to solve the MSRCMPSP.