High-involvement practices and performance of French firms

This article deals with the relationship between human resource practices (HRPs) and firm performances in France. It focuses on four specific HRPs that are able to involve employees: empowerment, compensation, communication and training. Each HRP taken in isolation is supposed to be positively related to performances because it is a source of motivation and commitment for employees. But there also exists a synergy between these practices: when they are combined into a bundle and are implemented all together, they should lead to better firm performances. A survey carried out among 180 human resource managers of large French companies leads to validation of most of our hypotheses. Contrary to previous research, we do not find a significant link between compensation and firm performance. The other HRPs are all indirectly related to financial performances, with social performance playing a mediating role. When they are combined into a bundle, HRPs have a stronger impact on performance than when they are studied individually. The article concludes with the importance of developing a strategic human resource policy and of implementing coherent and complementary high-involvement practices to increase firm performance

La complexité du lien adhérent-coopérative. La complexité du lien adhérent-coopérative : une relation marchande fondée sur des échanges sociaux.

International audienceGiven that the cooperative model cannot be reduced to only market relations but is also based on social interactions, this paper deals with the complexity of the link between agricultural cooperatives and their members showing the mediation role played by organizational commitment in the relation between trust and loyalty behaviors. It presents the theoretical fundamentals of our hypothetical model and then tests this model on a sample of 264 members of cooperatives in the cereal sector.Considérant que le modèle coopératif ne peut se résumer à sa seule dimension marchande mais se fonde sur des échanges sociaux, cet article aborde le lien adhérent-coopérative dans sa complexité en montrant le rôle médiateur de l'implication organisationnelle dans la relation entre confiance et comportements de fidélité. Il présente les fondements théoriques du modèle hypothétique testé ensuite sur un échantillon de 264 adhérents céréaliers de coopératives agricoles

Quelle implication des adhérents de coopératives agricoles dans le nouveau paradigme coopératif

Le secteur coopératif connaît de profondes mutations, en particulier dans le domaine de la coopération agricole. Des exigences de compétitivité économique, de plus en plus saillantes, viennent bouleverser le paysage coopératif en favorisant le développement de grands groupes mixtes mélant logiques coopérative et capitaliste. Dans de telles structures, l’adhérent cherche sa place et se sent de plus en plus dépassé : il semble se désengager du fonctionnement de sa coopérative. La question du sens de l’action collective se pose alors avec une accuité toute particulière puisque l’on assiste à une remise en question du modèle coopératif qui repose fondamentalement sur l’implication de ses adhérents. Une voie semble cependant possible qui concilierait impératifs économiques et principes coopératifs : celle d’un paradigme coopératif renouvelé qui replace l’adhérent et sa loyauté au centre de la démarche en revivifiant les valeurs de la coopération (Côté, 2007). Ces constatations nous ont amenées à étudier un modèle liant confiance dans les dirigeants, implication organisationnnelle des adhérents et fidélité à la coopérative. Le propos de cet article est de tester la pertinence du concept d’implication organisationnelle appliqué aux adhérents de coopératives agricoles dans ce contexte. Il présente une étude menée sur un échantillon de 322 coopérateurs, dans le secteur céréalier, en Midi-Pyrénées et compare des modèles alternatifs d’équations structurelles mesurant leur implication organisationnelle. Cette méthodologie nous à permis de vérifier que non seulement l’implication des adhérents de coopératives agricoles est bien mesurable à travers les trois dimensions issues des travaux de Meyer et Allen (1991) : implication affective, implication normative, implication calculée et ses deux sous dimensions ; mais que la dimension d’internalisation des valeurs (O’Reilly et Chatman, 1986) vient encore améliorer notre perception du phénomène dans ce cas particulier. Le fait qu’une dimension renforçant la prise en compte de la convergence des valeurs entre adhérents et coopératives permette de cerner plus complètement le phénomène de l’implication des adhérents ouvre des voies de réflexion quant à la manière de chercher de nouveaux leviers d’action pour favoriser leur engagement

Les déterminants de la fidélité des adhérents de coopératives agricoles

La relation entre l’agriculteur-adhérent et sa coopérative semble avoir changé de nature. Les adhérents de première génération adhéraient à la coopérative locale et pour la totalité de leur production. Aujourd’hui, ils adoptent des comportements beaucoup plus opportunistes et bien qu’adhérents d’une coopérative n’hésitent pas à rechercher l’offre la plus avantageuse. Ce comportement de l’adhérent est d’autant plus fréquent dans le secteur approvisionnement-céréales caractérisé par un accroissement de la volatilité des prix des matières premières. Les dirigeants de coopératives agricoles doivent donc être capables de retenir leurs adhérents. Cet article montre que la fidélité de l’agriculteur à sa coopérative dépend certes de caractéristiques individuelles ou liées à son exploitation agricole mais aussi de variables psychologiques sur lesquelles les dirigeants peuvent agir : l’implication de l’agriculteur et la confiance qu’il témoigne à l’équipe dirigeante

La distanciation de la relation adhérent-coopérative en France

RésuméDans le contexte de l’internationalisation des marchés et de la financiarisation de l’agriculture, les exploitations agricoles connaissent de profondes mutations. Ce mouvement s’accompagne d’une évolution conjointe des pratiques et des formes d’organisation. La relation que la nouvelle génération d’agriculteurs entretient avec la coopérative se distancie. Mieux formés et utilisant Internet, ces nouveaux agriculteurs se mettent à spéculer. Ils s’autonomisent de plus en plus du point de vue économique et participent de moins en moins à la vie de la coopérative. Selon les auteurs qui se sont intéressés à cette question, la confiance pourrait permettre de resserrer le lien entre l’adhérent et la coopérative. Aussi les coopératives auraient-elles tout intérêt à se donner les moyens de restaurer cette confiance

The relationship between members' trust and participation in the governance of cooperatives: the role of organizational commitment

This paper aims to explain the participative behavior of farmers-members of agricultural cooperatives in the governance of the latter. The study introduces two concepts from the organizational behavior literature: trust and organizational commitment. It tests a mediator effect of commitment in the relationship between the trust a farmer has in the cooperative and his/her participative behavior in its governance. Based on a sample of 259 members of French agricultural cooperatives, results showed that affective commitment had a mediating role in the relationship between trust and participation in the governance of cooperatives, notwithstanding the cognitive or affective nature of trust

Benefit and Risks of Aspirin in Addition to Ticagrelor in Acute Coronary Syndromes:A Post Hoc Analysis of the Randomized GLOBAL LEADERS Trial

Key PointsQuestionWhat are the benefits and risks of continuing aspirin in addition to P2Y12 receptor inhibition with ticagrelor among patients with acute coronary syndrome between 1 month and 12 months after percutaneous coronary intervention? FindingsIn this nonprespecified, post hoc analysis of the GLOBAL LEADERS randomized clinical trial, beyond 1 month after percutaneous coronary intervention in acute coronary syndrome, aspirin was associated with increased bleeding risk and appeared not to add to the benefit of ticagrelor on ischemic events. MeaningThe findings of this hypothesis-generating analysis pave the way for further trials evaluating aspirin-free antiplatelet strategies after percutaneous coronary intervention. ImportanceThe role of aspirin as part of antiplatelet regimens in acute coronary syndromes (ACS) needs to be clarified in the context of newer potent P2Y12 antagonists. ObjectiveTo evaluate the benefit and risks of aspirin in addition to ticagrelor among patients with ACS beyond 1 month after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Design, Setting, and ParticipantsThis is a nonprespecified, post hoc analysis of GLOBAL LEADERS, a randomized, open-label superiority trial comparing 2 antiplatelet treatment strategies after PCI. The trial included 130 secondary/tertiary care hospitals in different countries, with 15991 unselected patients with stable coronary artery disease or ACS undergoing PCI. Patients had outpatient visits at 1, 3, 6, 12, 18, and 24 months after index procedure. InterventionsThe experimental group received aspirin plus ticagrelor for 1 month followed by 23-month ticagrelor monotherapy; the reference group received aspirin plus either clopidogrel (stable coronary artery disease) or ticagrelor (ACS) for 12 months, followed by 12-month aspirin monotherapy. In this analysis, we examined the clinical outcomes occurring between 31 days and 365 days after randomization, specifically in patients with ACS who, within this time frame, were assigned to receive either ticagrelor alone or ticagrelor and aspirin. Main Outcomes and MeasuresThe primary outcome was the composite of all-cause death or new Q-wave myocardial infarction. ResultsOf 15968 participants, there were 7487 patients with ACS enrolled; 3750 patients were assigned to the experimental group and 3737 patients to the reference group. Between 31 and 365 days after randomization, the primary outcome occurred in 55 patients (1.5%) in the experimental group and in 75 patients (2.0%) in the reference group (hazard ratio [HR], 0.73; 95% CI, 0.51-1.03; P=.07); investigator-reported Bleeding Academic Research Consortium-defined bleeding type 3 or 5 occurred in 28 patients (0.8%) in the experimental group and in 54 patients (1.5%) in the reference arm (HR, 0.52; 95% CI, 0.33-0.81; P=.004). Conclusions and RelevanceBetween 1 month and 12 months after PCI in ACS, aspirin was associated with increased bleeding risk and appeared not to add to the benefit of ticagrelor on ischemic events. These findings should be interpreted as exploratory and hypothesis generating; however, they pave the way for further trials evaluating aspirin-free antiplatelet strategies after PCI. Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01813435. This secondary analysis of the GLOBAL LEADERS randomized clinical trial evaluates the benefit and risks of aspirin in addition to ticagrelor among patients with acute coronary syndrome beyond 1 month after percutaneous coronary intervention

Temporal Dynamics of Interferon Gamma Responses in Children Evaluated for Tuberculosis

BACKGROUND: Development of T-cells based-Interferon gamma (IFNgamma) assays has offered new possibilities for the diagnosis of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) and active disease in adults. Few studies have been performed in children, none in France. With reference to the published data on childhood TB epidemiology in the Paris and Ile de France Region, we considered it important to evaluate the performance of IGRA (QuantiFERON TB Gold In Tube(R), QF-TB-IT) in the diagnosis and the follow-up through treatment of LTBI and active TB in a cohort of French children. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: 131 children were recruited during a prospective and multicentre study (October 2005 and May 2007; Ethical Committee St Louis Hospital, Paris, study number 2005/32). Children were sampled at day 0, 10, 30, 60 (except Healthy Contacts, HC) and 90 for LTBI and HC, and a further day 120, and day 180 for active TB children. Median age was 7.4 years, with 91% of the children BCG vaccinated. LTBI and active TB children undergoing therapy produced significant higher IFNgamma values after 10 days of treatment (p = 0.035). In addition, IFNgamma values were significantly lower at the end of treatment compared to IFNgamma values at day 0, although the number of positive patients was not significantly different between day 0 and end of treatment. CONCLUSIONS/ SIGNIFICANCE: By following quantitative IFNgamma values in each enrolled child with LTBI or active TB and receiving treatment, we were able to detect an increase in the IFNgamma response at day 10 of treatment which might allow the confirmation of a diagnosis. In addition, a decline in IFNgamma values during treatment makes it possible for clinicians to monitor the effect of preventive or curative therapy

Drivers of joint cropland management strategies in agri-food cooperatives

[EN] In several Spanish regions, collective action through production and marketing cooperatives has traditionally concentrated the food supply of small and medium-sized farms. However, many cooperatives are threatened by the risk of abandonment of members' cropland, which reduces their sourcing capacity. In this context, joint cropland management initiatives have become a useful form of social and organizational innovation. This research's contribution is twofold: it examines the relevance of some drivers of this organizational innovation, and it determines the cooperative characteristics or combinations of characteristics that can sufficiently explain the adoption of a joint cropland management strategy. Some cooperatives' features have been a priori identified as related to the achievement of joint cropland initiatives: economic size, social innovation, innovative behavior, and collaborative orientation. The study is mainly based on data from a cooperatives survey, and fuzzy set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) methodology has been used. The analysis has been completed by surveying cooperatives' managers about their opinions on a joint cropland management strategy's main advantages and drivers. Results indicate that social and economic innovation, size, and propensity to cooperate with other cooperatives are key factors that help create a cooperative profile capable of tackling the challenge of land abandonment and the consequent loss of production.Ministry of Science and Innovation, Spain, European Regional Development Fund, European Commission. Project "Strengthening innovation policy in the agri-food sector" (RTI2018-093791-B-C22).Piñeiro, V.; Martinez Gomez, VD.; Melia-Marti, E.; García Alvarez-Coque, JM. (2021). Drivers of joint cropland management strategies in agri-food cooperatives. Journal of Rural Studies. 84:162-173. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2021.04.003S1621738

Les agriculteurs sont-ils traités justement par leur coopérative?

Grâce à l’analyse des résultats d’une étude exploratoire menée auprès de 534 adhérents d’une coopérative agricole polyvalente du sud de la France, cet article entend montrer la pertinence du concept de justice organisationnelle dans la compréhension de la relation qu’entretiennent les adhérents avec leur coopérative. Il présente également un état des lieux des perceptions qu’ont les adhérents de la justice, d’où il ressort que les relations avec les représentants de la coopérative sont jugées positivement, alors que les questions de participation et de rémunération génèrent un plus grand sentiment d’injustice