New production concepts in the machine tool industry.

In this contribution, we comment on some results of the Belgian Trend Study. The intention of this study was to examine the prevalence of new production concepts within the widest possible range of companies in the automobile, the machine-tool, the chemical and the clothing industries. The Trend Study aimed to answer the question whether the Taylorist division of labour is a thing of the past and whether shifts in the division of labour are accompanied by another type of personnel policy. The methodological concept used had to guarantee that the findings at the level of each industry could be generalized. Although a brief comparison with the evolutions in the three other branches is built in, we restrict ourselves mainly to an examination of the penetration of new production concepts in the main processing fields of the machine-tool industry.Industry;

From statute to contract : regulating the employment relationship in the public sector.

The public sector in European countries has been swept up in general economic restructuring. This has had a marked impact on many aspects of industrial relations and personnel management in the public sector. In most countries, the growth of public employment has been slowed, while structures of bargaining, pay determination, job classification, career structures and so on have been the subject of reform projects. In Belgium, there is one constant which keeps turning up in all reform projects: doubt concerning the tenability of the principle of statutory employment. In the present work we will attempt to lay bare the core of the debate concerning the future of statutory employment.Employment;

Towards a flexible future ? The nature of organisational response in the clothing industry.

In this contribution, the central questions concern the need for structural transformation, the diffusion of innovative organisational practices, and the dominance of particular organisational models in the Belgian clothing industry. In order to answer these questions, the results of two Trend Study surveys are used, covering a total of 104 companies : a 1995 survey among companies employing more than 50 workers and a 1996 survey in the segment of companies employing between 20 and 50 workers.Industry;

The impact of upper and lower echelon human capital and HR practices on innovation in start-ups.

Abstract Innovative start-ups have become the center of attention in government policy. They are considered to be the driving force of economic growth and international competitive advantage. Despite this growing interest, little is known about firm internal determinants of and critical success factors for innovation in newly established firms. Innovation is a function of a firm's ability to create, manage and maintain knowledge. Since knowledge is created by and stored within individuals, human resources as well as HR practices may play an important role as drivers of innovation in start-ups. We expect that start-ups having superior human resources (both owners/managers and employees) and an intensive HRM, are more able to innovate. Results show that unless employees' human capital is managed, it provides little benefit to start-ups in terms of innovation. Moreover, the impact of HRM intensity is higher in start-ups with high human capital as compared to newly established firms with low human capital. Next, innovation is indirectly (through the mediating effect of employees' human capital and/or HRM) and positively affected by the owners/managers' educational level and the appeal to certified experts. Industry experience, in turn, has an indirect negative impact. The number of independent board members directly and positively influences innovation.Employees; Human capital; Human resource management; Innovation; Startups;

'HRM and performance', research without theory? A literature review.

Due to the increasingly intense global competition and the corresponding search for sources of sustained competitive advantage during the last thirty years, the interest in strategic management has risen, both among academics and practitioners. This evolution resulted in various organisational functions becoming more concerned with their role in the strategic management process. The Human Resource Management field has similarly sought to become integrated into this process through the development of a new discipline referred to as Strategic Human Resource Management. One of the central issues that has been studied in the field of SHRM is the HRM-performance relationship. Despite the pile of studies on this topic, it has been criticised for its lack of a strong theoretical foundation. The purpose of this literature review is to make a journey of exploration through the (S)HRM-performance literature and to map out the different theories that can be useful in understanding and explaining the complex relationship between these two variables. This 'theory mapping' should enable us to decide upon the presence or absence of theory within this research field. Our main conclusion is that this field does not suffer from a lack of theories. On the contrary, the existing theories include economical, sociological as well as psychological perspectives and all together they shed some light on how HRM might be determined and how the mechanisms within the black box might work. Moreover, conditions are proposed under which HRM can lead to higher performance. The real problems researchers are coping with can be summarised as follows: (1) the difficulties the (combination of) present theories impose on empirical research, (2) a lack of theory building with regard to the concepts of HRM and performance and their measurement and (3) the constant theoretical reorientation because of the ever returning criticism.Competition; Competitive advantage; Field; Functions; Human resource management; Management; Measurement; Performance; Problems; Processes; Researchers; Resource management; Strategic management; Studies; Theory; Variables;

Strategisch management van human resources. Maakt het een verschil?.

Maakt HRM een verschil? Deze vraag naar de relatie tussen investering in human resource management en bedrijfsprestaties houdt al meer dan een decennium lang een klein leger onderzoekers aan de praat. In deze 'state of the art' van het 'HRM-performance'-onderzoek, uitgewerkt als inaugurale rede in het kader van de binnenlandse Francqui-leerstoel, wordt vooral ingezoomd op de groeipijnen waarmee dit onderzoeksdomein te kampen heeft. Er wordt vooral ingegaan op de soms weinig transparante conceptuele vraagstukken en de moeilijkheid om de 'black boxes' tussen HRM en bedrijfsprestaties open te breken.Management; Human resource management; Resource management; Open;

Learning about small business profitability: the influence of management practices and owner-manager human capital.

In a free market economy the importance of small business as a major job supplier, innovatorand source of growth is widely recognized. Given the importance of small business for aneconomy, the survival, success and performance of these firms is an issue of continuousconcern. Research that can lead to the identification of those factors associated with smallbusiness performance is of great interest to policy makers, owner-managers and their advisors.This article aims at detecting predictors of small business profitability. Our objective is todistinguish internal factors of small construction companies that enhance firm profitability.Based on the data of an empirical survey in the construction industry to which certifiedfinancial data has been added, this paper investigates the influence of owner-manager humancapital characteristics and selected management practices on the profitability of smallconstruction companies. For this purpose, we develop and test a structural model. Resultsindicate that industry experience and level of education of the owner-manager andmanagement practices such as avoidance of cash credit and the use of actual costing systemscontribute to higher profitability. Furthermore, owner-manager human capital characteristicsinfluence profitability both directly and indirectly.Characteristics; Companies; Construction; Credit; Data; Economy; Factors; Firms; Industry; Job; Learning; Management; Management practices; Market; Model; Owner-manager; Owner-manager human capital; Performance; Policy; Profitability; Research; Small business; Small business profitability; Structural model; Success; Systems; Working;

The delayed transformation: restructuring in the automobile, chemical, clothing and machine tool industries.

In this paper, we focus on the results of the Belgian Trend Study. The intention of this study was to examine the prevalence of new production concepts within the widest possible range of companies in the automobile, the machine-tool, the chemical and the clothing industries. The Trend Study aimed to answer the following questions : is the Taylorist division of labour a thing of the past ? What are the alternatives ? Are shifts in the division of labour accompanied by another type of personnel policy, and do traditional relations have to make way for this new approach ? The methodological concept used had to guarantee that the findings at the level of each industry could be generalized. Though the picture emerging from the empirical data collected in the four industrial sectors is inevitably diverse, the data make it possible merely to suggest a 'neo' rather than a 'post' Taylorist or Fordist concept.

Measuring the degree of organisational transformation.

Abstract: International organisations are increasingly urging governments to support the dissemination of new organisational concepts. Research into the efforts made by the business community in its quest for new organisational concepts and permanent monitoring of the effects of organisational transformation are necessary tools for supporting these policy lines. Since 1980 a variety of organisation surveys have been undertaken in an effort to evaluate the extent and effects of workplace innovation. Comparisons of the findings or results of these major organisation surveys are fraught with major difficulties because the choices of methodology and survey design differ widely. Moreover, little information is currently available about the methodological limitations of these organisation surveys. This paper therefore concentrates on the methodological design of 16 major organisation surveys. The objectives of the paper can be described as follows: (1) comparison of organisation surveys with the aim of making an inventory of 'good practices' at several levels (e.g. sampling method, non-response strategy, etc.), which can strengthen the quality of research into the diffusion and effects of new organisational concepts; (2) charting current 'methodological diversity' with the aim of investigating the possibilities for cross-national research into the spread and effects of new organisational concepts.Complications; Characteristics; International; Effects; Surveys; Strategy;