Julia Connell

Vulnerable workers, precarious work and the role of trade unions and HRM

This special issue of the International Journal of Human Resource Management was conceived in response to increasing evidence regarding the vulnerability and precariousness associated with long-ter...

Industry clusters: an antidote for knowledge sharing and collaborative innovation?

Purpose – This paper seeks to focus on industry clusters and a rationale for why they may be considered an antidote for stimulating knowledge sharing and collaborative innovation. Design/methodology/approach – Community based participatory research was undertaken using case studies and interviews within four industry clusters based in two countries – Australia and Dubai. Findings were ranked according to a knowledge sharing relational framework. Findings – Industry clusters can play a key role in growing both established and new areas of economic development. Member firm collaboration, knowledge sharing and innovation can result in positive outcomes if the cluster is managed and facilitated appropriately and knowledge sharing is nurtured. Research limitations/implications – The paper examines top-down, hybrid and bottom-up clustering from a variety of sectors as a way of understanding knowledge sharing and innovation exchange. However, given this research comprised case studies, it is recommended that bro...

Strategic alliances and knowledge sharing: synergies or silos?

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of a relationship marketing orientation within a strategic alliance (referred to as the Alliance) to determine whether those firms have achieved synergy in knowledge sharing or whether they operate as knowledge silos., – To achieve this aim the paper takes a strategic perspective and proposes a model based on the resource‐based view of the firm (RBV) in order to discover whether member firms can move Alliance relationships towards knowledge sharing experienced within long‐term and continuing relationships., – The results of this study reveal that intangible assets, such as relationships and knowledge, should be managed by the Alliance with the same care as would be undertaken with tangible assets. Further, the development of a relationship market orientation (RMO) by the Alliance appears to be crucial., – A key limitation of this paper could be considered the sample size (although the response rate was high) and geographical location., – Implications from the study were that, although information and knowledge were being shared, one area of improvement would be in relation to the depth of knowledge sharing that tended to occur on a superficial basis., – The findings are original in terms of knowledge sharing across organizational boundaries. There is currently very little research available that focuses on the influence of an RMO on knowledge sharing within network groups.

Migrant workers, migrant work, public policy and human resource management

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to outline some of the key issues related to migrant workers, work, public policy and HRM while introducing the five articles included in the special issue. Design/methodology/approach - The paper reports on the issue which is made up of articles that present research based on surveys, interviews and longitudinal census data. Findings - It is evident that high-performing economies attract migrants from lower-performing economies. However, with influxes of migrant labour there are a number of challenges that need to be met at the organisational and policy levels. Research limitations/implications - The indications are that some economies are beginning to slow and this means that migrant flows will also slow or reverse. The implications for migrant-dependent sectors and countries are not clear, although all five papers indicate areas for further research. Practical implications - Each article includes practical implications depending on the sector, skill and country being examined. Practical implications include the role of day labour centres as HR mediators between organisations and employees, the need for culturally sensitive and tailored training programs to assist professional migrants and the need for policies geared towards the assimilation of migrants and return migrants in order to assist their integration into the labour market. Originality/value - The five articles presented here represent a wide range of approaches, skill levels and sectors within the five counties examined: the USA, UK, Australia, Canada, and Finland. Some, such as the US paper which includes the first national survey of day labour worker centres, present findings from a highly under-represented area.

Knowledge integration and competitiveness: a longitudinal study of an industry cluster

Purpose – This paper aims to examine how – and whether – members of an industry cluster share knowledge through networking as a means to improving competitive advantage and, in particular, whether trust is present in the knowledge‐sharing process.Design/methodology/approach – The research involved three surveys utilizing a relationship marketing orientation (RMO) that were conducted at intervals (in 2004, 2008 and 2010) in addition to interviews with key cluster members, which were also conducted over a seven‐year period.Findings – Knowledge sharing and integration were found to mediate the relationship between RMO and competitive advantage in 2004 and 2010 but not in 2008. Lower mean scores for trust were also found in 2008.Research limitations/ implications – The limitations are that the respondent numbers were small. It is recommended that one more survey is conducted in 2013 to determine whether the interventions reported here, the recruitment of new cluster staff and the continuing growth of the clus...

Call centres, quality of work life and HRM practices

Purpose – The paper seeks to determine whether and how the quality of working life (QWL) varies between call centres (CCs) in the in‐house/outsourced, public and private sectors and the implications of these findings on human resource management (HRM).Design/methodology/approach – This paper reports on findings derived through empirical qualitative case study research in two Australian CCs: Govtcall, an in‐house, public‐sector CC, and Salesplus, an outsourced, private‐sector CC. Quality of work life outcomes are determined through in‐depth interviews with CSOs, supervisors and managers, where a comparative approach is utilised.Findings – The in‐house, public‐sector CC Govtcall emerges as being inferior in terms of job content, working hours and managerial/supervisory style and strategies. Conversely, Salesplus features a management model that is more akin to what would be expected in a CC operating under a professional service model.Research limitations/implications – The sample size was limited to two CC...

Introduction to special issue: HRM and job quality: An overview

This special issue volume focuses on research into Human Resource Management (HRM) and job quality. Improving job quality is firmly on the public policy agenda in the European Union (EU) and is central to the International Labour Offices (ILOs) decent work agenda. There has been considerable policy debate in the EU concerning job quality and the need to create not only more but also better jobs. This introduction reviews the nature and measurement of job quality and discusses the HRM rationale for improvement. This article assesses workplace programmes that can assist in improving job quality before introducing the issues to be covered in this special edition.

Skills and the role of HRM: towards a research agenda for the Asia Pacific region

While much has been written about skill shortages and gaps in Australia and China, less attention has been paid to skills in New Zealand and Vietnam, countries which also experience skill challenges. This special issue of the Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources includes papers that focus on the four countries in order to examine skills and the role of human resource management (HRM). The intention is to advance theoretical and empirical research, helping to explain how HRM can provide responses to manage the challenges associated with skill development and talent management. We conclude that, at a broader level, effective alliances between education providers, industry and other stakeholders are needed to reduce skill shortages and improve skill development. At an organisational level, it is advocated that HR strategies focus on the creation of talent pipelines and talent management to reduce skill gaps and improve the quality of human capital.

Telecommuting and Co-Working Communities: What Are the Implications for Individual and Organizational Flexibility?

In recent years, telecommuting has increased exponentially, although rates vary across different countries. The US has one of the highest rates of telecommuting adoption in the world, with approximately 16 million US employees working from home at least 1 day per month—about 10 % of all employees (Shieh and Searle SOAC 2013: 6th State of Australian Cities Conference. State of Australian Cities Research Network, 2013). In Australia, it has been estimated that in 2013, 5.6 million adult Australians aged 18 years and over were ‘digital workers’—that is, they use the internet to work away from the office (Di Gregorio Home is where the work is: Research snapshots, 2013). This represents 51 % of the total employed workforce in Australia. Telecommuting environments vary with regard to the life and work opportunities provided for telecommuters (Shieh and Searle SOAC 2013: 6th State of Australian Cities Conference. State of Australian Cities Research Network, 2013), as well as the range of advantages and disadvantages telecommuting can provide for both workers and organizations. Consequently, this chapter reviews existing literature in order to explore how telecommuting can either contribute to, or detract from individual and organizational flexibility. The emergence of co-working practices is also examined as a telecommuting environment that has the potential to overcome some of the issues that telecommuting poses both from the individual and organizational perspectives.

Framing the Emerging Talent Crisis in India and China A Human Capital Perspective

China and India have undergone significant transformation in recent years as they emerge as the drivers of the so-called “Asian Century”. Although the catalyst for this remarkable growth has been the ability of both countries to harness talent, the next two decades will require a very different dispersion of skills. India will increase its working age population by an additional 200 million, while the workforce in China will reduce by 100 million. In the next three decades, China will have more than doubled its population of those aged 65 and over resulting in a weaker dependency ratio. This article examines the multifaceted challenges that are emerging due to significant skills shortages in China and India. Through the lens of human capital theory, two new frameworks are introduced in order to analyze these factors and to suggest potential solutions.