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Discusses critically the concept of numerical flexibility arguing that strategies for numerical flexibility may in part be viewed as “emergent” strategies. Argues further that “emergent” strategies evolve as responses to the national institutional context. This context comprises laws and regulations which constrain firms from introducing numerical flexibility and trade unions which, acting on behalf of their members, will attempt to limit the scope of numerical flexibility. Demonstrates that since the 1980s the institutional contexts in which Norwegian and UK firms operate have diverged significantly, leading to expected differing rates of increased use of numerical flexibility. This is tested through a multivariate analysis of variations in numerical flexibility at the firm level on the basis of data from the 1995 Euronet‐Cranfield Survey.

Work enthusiasm and organizational socialization (Training, Understanding, Coworker Support, and Future Prospects) were compared in two predominantly Chinese regions, i.e., Macau (a former Portuguese territory in China) and Zhuhai in the People’s Republic of China. Data were collected from 276 (96 Macau and 180 Zhuhai) full‐time, line‐level, ethnic Chinese employees in the two regions. Results revealed the Zhuhai employees to be much more enthusiastic at work. The Zhuhai employees also evaluated Training, Understanding, and Future Prospects more highly than did the Macau employees (no differences were found for Coworker Support). Regression analyses revealed Future Prospects to be the strongest predictor of work enthusiasm in Zhuhai, while education and years on the job explained most of the variance for work enthusiasm in Macau. The results of the comparisons are discussed in terms of the similarities and differences in the cultures and economic development of the regions.

The purpose of this paper is to find out whether the leadership expectations in independent Estonia differ from leadership expectations in other East European countries (EEC) and from other neighbouring countries and also to investigate actual leadership perception in Estonia.

To find answers to the research questions stated above, two leadership surveys were carried out in Estonia in 2001 and 2003. The research carried out in 2001 concentrated on actual leader behaviour and the next wave of research, carried out in 2003, was devoted to desirable leader behaviour. The methodology of the surveys was based on the cross‐cultural Global Leadership and Organizational Behaviour Effectiveness (GLOBE) research program with its initial headquarters in the USA. The GLOBE research program is a world‐wide, multi‐phase and method project.

The crucial thing in the Estonian working environment during the transformation period was team spirit and team reinforcement. Unless Estonians are usually considered to be lonely spirits, the team in the working environment is considered to be very important. As opposed to other EEC countries, Estonia is more like other European countries when considering team orientation. The comparison of actual leadership patterns and desired leadership in Estonia showed that Estonians expect their leaders to be charismatic – value‐based, team‐oriented and participative. The leaders are not expected to be humane, self‐protective and autonomous – these styles are considered to inhibit outstanding leadership.

Knowledge of current research about the Estonian leadership style can be used in the training of future leaders in colleges and universities. With Estonia being a new member of the European Union, lots of companies will open their subsidiaries in this region if they have not done so already and information about culturally endorsed leadership profiles can be used while selecting and training people who will work with representatives of other cultures.

The leaders during the research period were considered to be charismatic – value‐based and team‐oriented, but not participative and too autonomous.

Taking an international comparative approach, this chapter investigates the variance in the adoption of employee share ownership and stock option arrangements across countries. In particular, we investigate the influence of multinational enterprises (MNEs), industrial relations factors, HRM strategies, and market economies on the adoption and spread of the arrangements across countries. We find that industrial relations factors do not explain the variance in adoption by companies in their respective countries. MNEs and HRM strategies are important drivers of adoption. Market economy does not moderate the influence of MNEs on adoption, suggesting that MNEs universally apply the arrangements across borders.

This chapter analyzes the determinants of adoption of sharing arrangements by companies. Using propositions from agency and strategic human resource management frameworks predicting the adoption of sharing arrangements, we test the relationships with a large international dataset. The study finds that adoption of sharing arrangements is related to human capital investments, individual incentives, involvement practices, and human resource management practices and that adoption is affected by country differences.

The purpose of this study is to test the relationships of learning, organizational commitment and talent retention across managerial generations in Europe.

Hypotheses are developed to explain the influence of learning and organizational commitment on talent retention across generations. A total of 1,666 European managers completed a survey on these issues. Depending on year of birth, they were categorized into four generational cohorts. Their answers were analyzed with statistic procedures.

Findings reveal that younger generations are less willing to remain in the same organization and have lower organizational commitment. The youngest generations (Early and Late Xers, born 1960 and after) show stronger learning orientation and lower organizational commitment than older generations (Early and Late Boomers, born 1946‐1959). Learning orientation predicted the intention to remain in the same organization for Early Xers and Late Xers. Organizational commitment mediated this relationship. For Late Boomers and Early Xers, it mediated the relationship between specific leadership development intentions and intention to stay.

Managerial, job‐related learning is confirmed as an important antecedent for the intention to stay/leave one's current organization. The differential meaning of learning and commitment across generations needs to be better understood in order to develop effective strategies for the retention of talent in all generations. In particular, differences in the psychological contract between organizations and their managers need to be understood.

The findings suggest an approach of generation‐specific HR practices for talent retention.

The study is one of the first to date to address leadership development and learning orientation in the context of talent retention, as well as one of the first to address the discussion of generational challenges in Europe and across the specific population of people in managerial roles.

This chapter examines the interactions of formal and informal forms of small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) business support, characterised as interactions within an ‘enterprise industry’. An analysis of the interactions revealed in the existing literature for different forms of business support develops a new conceptual framework for understanding those varied forms of external influence targeted at SMEs that constitute and extend a ‘patchwork quilt’ of provision. This chapter focusses on how different forms of support and advice interact, the centrality of state influence and how such interactions can be considered part of a firm’s regulatory context. This conceptualisation allows the consideration of both business support and state regulations to move beyond conceptions of positive or negative impacts on factors such as firm growth. Instead, it establishes a conceptual lens for considering how the different forms of external influence can shape the practices and attitudes of SMEs and their owner-managers. Policy makers and organisations within the enterprise industry seeking to develop effective forms of support or regulation should not consider such activities in isolation or in simple, decontextualised positive or negative terms.

Competitiveness is a multidimensional construct, related to a number of external and internal company factors. This paper aims to provide empirical evidence on the relationship between the application of small- and medium-sized enterprises’ (SMEs) compensation incentives as an index/element of human system development and competitiveness.

A unique primary data set drawn from the Global Competitiveness Project on SMEs’ competitiveness was analysed, using cross-sectional data of 784 firms. First, descriptive statistics were used to show the data set peculiarities. Second, a forward logistic regression was applied to show the effects on the application of compensation incentives. A 25.1% of explanatory power was found by targeting the application of compensation systems by 7 firm-level principal factors and 30 control variables.

The findings suggest that there is a higher chance of the application of compensation incentives in cases when the employees possess a more substantial tacit knowledge and formal and informal relationship networks. It is also positively impacted by the higher level of intra-company manifestation of knowledge.

The research was conducted among SMEs from eight countries, based on a unique questionnaire designed for small enterprises. The respective countries are from Europe and Latin America, which serve as a reference category for Hungary. Also, there is a high level of 0 answers for the involved variables. The binary logistic regression methodology is suitable for filtering out some of these; nevertheless, the proportion of uncertain factors remains high as it is indicated by the explanatory power.

The majority of the literature is dealing with large companies in the topic of competitiveness, whereas in this data set, a deeper analysis was carried out among SMEs from eight countries, comparing their results to the Hungarian ones. The findings can be used as reference points for future studies, and the understanding of the HR cycle within SMEs.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the attitude of European firms towards human resource management (HRM) configuration and HRM practices on a country-level basis. Assuming the persistent relevance of institutional framework, the paper investigates the applicability of the varieties of capitalism (VoC) theory to these domains in European countries and their evolution between 1999 and 2005.

The paper selects and groups together variables that are related to both HRM configuration and HRM practices using data coming from the survey performed in 2005 by the Cranfield Network on International HRM. Then, a hierarchical cluster analysis among 16 European countries is performed. Relevant varieties are obtained through the combined application of two stopping rules.

Evidence shows that the evolution of HR policies over time is in line with an extended VoC approach that divides Europe in four VoC. One of these varieties (the “State” model), however, is not validated after a robustness check.

For HR managers, the implementation of common personnel policies within the same variety of capitalism could represent a potential fertile ground for beneficial interactions and mutual learning among HR functions. In particular, the classification suggested in the paper does matter if an intervention on HRM practices is accompanied by a change in the participation of the HR department to the decision-making process and/or in the delegation of responsibilities between the HR department and the line management.

The authors’ results contribute to the debate on the relationship between HRM and institutional context in two ways. First, they show that an extended VoC framework can explain the differentiation among European countries with regard to HRM domains. Notably, the correlation between the structure of the HR function and the intensity of HRM practices generates a clusterization of European countries based on at least three models of capitalism. Second, it emerges from the analysis that a substantial shift occurred with respect to the previous wave of the survey together with an increase of similarities between countries.

This paper presents a case study of a management development programme, which adopts a competence‐based approach aimed at middle managers in a further education college. The programme takes place in a context that promotes the concept of general management. However, the programme, in which the general management approach is embedded, is resisted by the participating middle managers, to the extent that the programme “collapses” half way through and is never revived. As the paper suggests, there may be two reasons for this. First, in considering any potential relationship between public and private sectors, a key question is whether generic transfer of managerial ideas and practices from private to the public sector is appropriate. Second, it may be a question of the way in which the programme was implemented and delivered.