Human Resources and the Resource Based View of the Firm

The resource-based view (RBV) of the firm has influenced the field of strategic human resource management (SHRM) in a number of ways. This paper explores the impact of the RBV on the theoretical and empirical development of SHRM. It explores how the fields of strategy and SHRM are beginning to converge around a number of issues, and proposes a number of implications of this convergence

An Architectural Approach to Managing Knowledge Stocks and Flows: Implications for Reinventing the HR Function

Sustainable competitive advantage is increasingly dependent upon a firm’s ability to manage both its knowledge stocks and flows. We examine how different employees’ knowledge stocks are managed within a firm and how—through their recombination and renewal—those stocks can create sustainable competitive advantage. To do this, we first establish an architectural framework for managing human resources and review how the framework provides a foundation for studying alternative employment arrangements used by firms in allocating knowledge stocks. Next, we extend the architecture by examining how knowledge stocks (human capital) can be both recombined and renewed through cooperative and entrepreneurial archetypes. We then position two HR configurations to focus on facilitating these two archetypes. By identifying and managing different forms of social capital across employee groups within the architecture, HR practices can facilitate the flow of knowledge within the firm, which ultimately leads to sustainable competitive advantage

An Institutional Theory perspective on sustainable practices across the dairy supply chain

AbstractThe need for sustainable practices in the food supply chain, particularly in the area of energy reduction, is becoming acute. The food industry currently has to contend with multiple competing pressures alongside the new challenges of sustainable production. We applied Institutional Theory to explore the role of supermarkets in the development of legitimate sustainable practices across the dairy supply chains. The paper focuses on dairy supply chain organizations and their consumption of energy. We conducted 70 semi-structured telephone interviews with various stakeholders across the supply chain. Findings revealed that the majority of actors in the supply chain identified supermarkets as the dominant player, and that the supermarkets exert pressure on other smaller organizations across the supply chain. Although some organizations wished to pursue a sustainable agenda through integrating new rules and legitimate practices within their own organization, the dominant logic appeared to be one of cost reduction and profit maximization. There was also evidence that supermarkets and other large organizations attempt to replicate publicly available information on green successes for image purposes. We conclude that the dominant logic of cost reduction is so well established that challenging the dominant logic may prove difficult. The challenge is therefore to complement the dominant logic with sustainable practices across the whole supply chain, a role Government needs to play. This will require a broader more systemic approach to encouraging sustainable practices including investment and financing practices, so that all members of the dairy supply chain can co-operate and contribute to energy reduction

The Human Capital Dimensions of Sustainable Investment: What Investment Analysts Need to Know

This paper identifies a number of questions that need to be answered if the growing interest in building investment portfolios of firms that follow socially and environmentally sustainable practices is to be successful in transforming the financial institutions and analysts from a liability to an asset in expanding the number of sustainable firms in the economy. Evidence from three decades of research on "high performance workplace practices" is reviewed that identifies what is required for firms to align human capital and financial strategies. A longer term research and education agenda is presented for answering the remaining open questions

Strategic Management and HRM

[Excerpt] The purpose of this chapter is to discuss this intersection between Strategic Management and HRM, what we know, and future directions for SHRM research. We will begin by briefly discussing the concept of strategy and the popularization of the resource-based view (RBV) of the firm. Next we will address its role in creating the link between HRM and Strategic Management including key questions that the RBV has raised in relation to SHRM. We will then examine the current state of affairs in SHRM; the progress made, and key questions and concerns occupying the attention of SHRM researchers. Finally, we will conclude with our views on future directions for SHRM research

Intangibles, Global Networks & Corporate Social Responsibility

Network organisations emphasise the importance of corporate and product intangible assets. In global competition, the managerial economics of intangibles imposes new network policies of corporate social responsibility, dominated by global social issues such as economic sustainability, eco-responsibility, worker protection and so on.Intangible Assets; Network; Global Competition; Corporate Social Responsibility DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.4468/2010.2.02brondoni

The organisational goals of social entrepreneurs: how social are they?

There is an increasing consensus among academics that the common denominator of ‘social entrepreneurs’ is their adherence to a ‘dominant social mission’. The extent to which social entrepreneurs actually adhere to socially oriented goals and values is largely taken for granted and treated as a black box. Building on established theoretical constructs, this paper develops a number of measures that can potentially contribute to our understanding of how ‘social’ social entrepreneurs really are. More specifically, we empirically test four potential measures of “social proclivity” in a well defined sample of social ventures, performing confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) (N~270). CFA points to high reliability and validity for the measures of each of the four constructs and supports the existence of a higher order construct “social proclivity”. Further, results show that social entrepreneurs display strong social as well as economic motives, providing an empirical base for actually capturing the dual-bottom line that characterises these enterprises

[Review of the book \u3ci\u3eSustainable Prosperity in the New Economy? Business Organization and High-Tech Employment in the United States\u3c/i\u3e]

[Excerpt] Best known as a business and economic historian, William (Bill) Lazonick may often escape the view of academics in human resource studies, organizational behavior, and labor relations. This is a mistake. Lazonick\u27s new book, Sustainable Prosperity in the New Economy?, is a must-read for scholars and students in these fields. He has chosen to study an important problem in the real world, has marshaled detailed empirical evidence to support his argument, and has used this evidence to critique conventional theory in economics and management

Examining the Impact of Innovation Forms on Sustainable Economic Performance: The Influence of Family Management

The aim of this research is to explore the effect that innovation, as a potential source of sustained competitive advantage and firm growth, has on the achievement of sustainable economic performance. In particular, this paper empirically examines the influence of four innovation forms (intramural R&D, extramural R&D, product innovation, and process innovation) on firms’ sustainable economic performance, considering the moderating effect of family involvement in management. To test the hypotheses, random-effects regression analyses are applied to a longitudinal sample of 598 Spanish private manufacturing firms throughout the 2006–2015 period. The results show a negative effect of intramural and extramural R&D on sustainable economic performance and a positive effect of process innovation on sustainable economic performance. Moreover, a reinforced relationship between process innovation and sustainable economic performance is also revealed when family involvement in management acts as a moderator. The findings make several contributions to research and practice

Corporate Social Responsibility and Likelihood of Financial Distress

Does doing good to society make firms less likely to have financial trouble? This paper looks at the benefit of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and examines whether firms’ CSR engagement affects their chance of falling into financial distress. After analyzing a broad U.S. database spanning 25 years from 1991 to 2015, we find that CSR engagement indeed reduces the likelihood of firms falling into financial distress, and the results are statistically robust and economically significant. Further, we find the impact of CSR on the likelihood of financial distress is more pronounced in economic downturns and for firms with high levels of international involvement. Collectively, our result suggests that CSR lowers financial distress risks by improving firmstakeholder relationships, which enhances our understanding of the stakeholder view of CSR with longitudinal approach and contextual consideration of firms