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The purpose of this paper is to investigate gender differences in the relationships between job demands, job control and distress with the moderation effects of family status (i.e. marriage and parenthood) in the patriarchal cultural context of Korea.

The authors formulated hypotheses on the grounds of stress and role theories and tested them using a hierarchical regression analysis. A sample of 403 Korean employees (230 males; 173 females) was used for the analysis.

Family status moderated the relationship between job demands and distress for both males and females, whereas family status significantly moderated the effect of job control on distress for only males. Regardless of gender, marriage and parenthood were associated with distress affected by job demands, while only males exhibited significant distress in interactions between family status and job control.

This exploratory study is one of few that explicitly addresses the concepts of the job demands-control model dealing with the unique characteristics of demographic groups. By incorporating data from the single, the married and parents, this study identified applications of the conservation of resources and role theory for various family statuses in a non-Western culture. Particularly, this study is meaningful in that it highlighted the impacts of family roles on distress that can be observed in any culture, but is salient in a highly hierarchal, patriarchal and work-centered culture, like Korea.

Global gender diversity and equality indexes have been developed to promote gender diversity and equality at the country level, but it is difficult to see how those indexes are applied to organizations on a daily basis. The purpose of this study is to examine the application of environmental, social and governance (ESG) measures for gender diversity and equality at the organizational level in a Korean context.

Based on the institutional theory, the authors reviewed ESG measures for gender diversity and equality of women funds in four countries (USA, Canada, UK and Japan) and examined The Women Fund in Korea through document analysis and interviews.

ESG measures in four countries’ women funds mainly assessed the percentage of women in the workforce, on boards and in leadership positions. In The Women Fund, gender diversity indicators consider the ratio of female to male employees, while gender equality indicators take into account gaps of male and female salaries and positions. This study’s impact analysis indicates that the companies invested in by The Women Fund had higher return on assets and return on equity than those without the fund.

Although women funds explored in this study exemplify the use of ESG measures to apply global gender diversity and equality indexes at the organizational level, research is needed to examine ESG measures and women funds and their associations. Possible topics include what needs to be measured in ESG, who should be involved, how ESG measures should be applied, what outcomes of using ESG measures would ensue in organizations and how ESG measures relate to regional and global gender diversity.

In promoting ESG measures that apply global gender diversity and equality at the organizational level, human resource development practitioners, as change agents, can help organizations develop socially responsible and ethical behaviors and transform organizational culture, practice and systems, which may influence organizations’ long-term survival and development as well as financial performance.

As the government’s support and policies guide and drive firms to develop and implement initiatives and programs, the launch and implementation of gender diversity and equality at the organizational level in the form of women funds require a certain level of collaboration between the government and the private sector.

This study on the application of ESG measures for global gender diversity and equality at the organizational level in the form of women funds is timely to engage organizations in dialogue regarding what needs to be done to promote women’s participation and leadership roles in organizations in Korea and other countries.

The purpose of this paper is to explore recent national human resource development (NHRD) practices in China through a literature review focusing on programs and activities that represent the roles and interactions among the government, industry and universities.

To effectively consolidate previous work and conceptualize the recent development of the NHRD practices in China, a semi-narrative literature review was used to explore and analyze NHRD-related functions and activities.

Findings from the literature review showed that although the central government still plays a predominant role in China, universities and corporations are increasingly playing a critical role in developing an innovative and skilled workforce. At the regional level, NHRD initiatives in China have been increasingly undertaken by universities, industry and government–industry–university collaborations. The authors also found a disparity between developed and underdeveloped regions in terms of NHRD in China.

This study used the triple helix model as a framework that provides an insightful lens for researchers to examine how various social entities interact with each other and jointly contribute to NHRD. Further case studies are needed to generate evidence-based knowledge to the NHRD literature.

A more systematic NHRD leadership structure at both the national and local level is desired to unleash the potential of bottom-up development and active government–industry–university collaboration. To counter regional divergence in NHRD in China, intra- and cross-regional collaborations are helpful in improving resources distribution and workforce development.

Based on open system theory, this study focused on programs and activities that represent the roles and interactions among the government, industry and university in Chinese NHRD through the lens of the triple helix model. In addition, this study offers a conceptual model of Chinese NHRD to help scholars and practitioners understand the transitional efforts in NHRD.

Following Zingales (1994) and Gilson (2006), this paper assumes that controlling shareholders have incentives to secretly transfer parts of corporate earnings to themselves, and the government to reduce these corporate self-dealing activities. We study if there exist certain levels of government monitoring intensities which are optimal for all parties involved; controlling shareholders, public investors and the government. Our model shows that there exists Nash equilibrium in corporate self-dealing and governmental monitoring levels. At this equilibrium, the optimal corporate investment level is greater than the counterpart in the absence of self-dealings and government monitoring. Our model further shows that the main determinants for the equilibrium level are monitoring efficiency, severity of self-dealings penalty, and marginal return on investment. Interestingly, however, we can not conclude that either controlling shareholders’ equity ownership ratios or corporate tax rates determines the optimal investment level.

The purpose of this study is to identify how themes and contributions featured in the four scholarly journals sponsored by the largest human resource development (HRD) research association (the Academy of Human Resource Development, AHRD) reflect the changing identity of the HRD field.

A frequency and content analysis of articles published during the period 2002-2011 was conducted to identify the dominant themes and research trend. Further, comments were made on the aims and scope and editorial discretion for each journal to understand how the journals influence the direction of scholarship in HRD.

It was found that the boundaries of the field are constantly expanding with some of the older and mature themes losing momentum and new themes coming to the forefront of scholarly interest. The journals were found to play a critical role in setting the future direction for the field.

Future researchers can examine if the waxing and waning themes identified in the findings remain same after analyzing contributions featured in journals that are not sponsored by the AHRD, but publish articles on topics closely related to HRD. Also, the findings can guide further examination of the editors’ leadership role in driving the evolution of the HRD field.

Considering the characteristics of HRD as an applied discipline, the findings can guide future researchers to explore if the thematic changes as identified in the study are associated with the needs of HRD practice.

The study attempts to understand the landscape of HRD research by looking at how the field’s identity boundaries have shifted over time and how different entities, like authors and editors publishing scholarly articles in the four HRD journals in the past decade, have interacted to contribute to the shift.

This paper aims to review technical vocational education and training (TVET) literature, identify different components of the TVET system and develop a conceptual framework that integrates human resource development (HRD) and national human resource development (NHRD) outcomes. The renewed focus on technical vocational education and training (TVET) is important for human resource development (HRD), as it expands current understanding of its role in economic development through workforce training. National human resource development (NHRD) perspectives recognize the role of TVET in linking regional and national economic development strategies. Furthermore, TVET’s focus on literacy education, poverty alleviation and inclusion of marginalized and vulnerable populations emphasizes social development outcomes that are critical for NHRD. Using this background, the integration of HRD and NHRD outcomes into one conceptual TVET framework for addressing workforce, economic and social development outcomes has been proposed.

A targeted literature review approach was used for exploring relevant research on TVET systems, identifying the components which support and/or inhibit its effectiveness and an integrative framework that connects education, workforce development, social development and economic development was developed.

Three major themes were identified. The first theme identifies nine sub-themes that make an effective TVET system. These are as follows: national TVET policy, regional TVET policy, training, participation, curriculum, coordination of stakeholder institutions, individual and institutional attitudes toward skill development, managing supply-demand mismatches and economic and social development outcomes. The second major theme underlines the increasing overlap and connection between workforce development, social development and economic development strategies. In the third and final finding, effective TVET systems are positioned as the linking pin connecting the four TVET components (skills, education, innovation and knowledge) to the strategic goals of workforce development, economic development and social development.

Integrating national and organizational-based HRD strategies is a unique focus and reflects the broader examination of the differences in the relationship between corporate HRD and more traditional TVET systems. It is argued that the role of TVET in social and workforce development at the regional and societal level cannot be ignored. HRD and NHRD outcomes were integrated by utilizing TVET as a framework for linking economic, social and workforce development strategies.

Postulating that individuals exposed to the threat of contagious diseases respond oversensitively toward other people, the current research aims to investigate its impact on consumers’ preferences for human images—human presence—in product packaging.

Five independent online and offline experiments were conducted. Studies 1, 2a, and 2b employed a three-group (threat: contagious vs. control vs. noncontagious) between-subjects design to investigate the main effect and its underlying mechanism. To further examine the moderation effects, Study 3 used a 2 (threat: contagious vs. control) × 2 (product feature: basic vs. antibacterial) between-subjects design, and Study 4 employed a 2 (threat: contagious vs. control) × 3 (human type: non–human vs. human–adult vs. human–baby) between-subjects design.

Studies 1, 2a, and 2b demonstrate that consumers facing the threat of contagious diseases tend to avoid social interaction, leading to a lower preference for products featuring human presence (vs. non-human presence). Studies 3 and 4 contribute to our hypothesized process by providing boundary conditions. Specifically, when the product incorporates an antibacterial function (Study 3) and the packaging depicts a baby (Study 4), the existing effect can be attenuated.

Despite the prevalence of experiencing epidemics and pandemics, little work has examined how threatened consumers respond to product packaging. The present research addresses this gap by exploring consumers' preferences for products featuring human presence on their packaging. Furthermore, this research contributes to the practical understanding of consumer choices by identifying product features and human types as moderating factors.