Pamela Lockhart

Examining the quantitative determinants of organizational performance: evidence from China

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to examine the determinants of organizational performance (OP) of business enterprises located in China and to explore how individual demographic and organizational characteristics affect OP. Design/methodology/approach – This study applies quantitative methods to examine the OP. Data were collected from 405 managers across 306 organizations in China. Findings – The study finds that, overall, OP is related to five factors, namely, finance and customer, internal business, work satisfaction, pay and benefits and innovation and technology (INT). The results from this study provide new perspectives and support the overall validity of the nomological network of OP factors. The findings also provide guidelines on which perspectives of performance organizations should be enhanced. Practical implications – The five-factor model of OP provides benefit to any organization or individual who intends to examine OP in China. In addition, the findings suggest that organizations should ...

Managerial skills shortages and the impending effects of organizational characteristics: Evidence from China

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the perception of skills shortages, namely, skills scarcity and skills deficiencies among managers, and its relationship with organizational characteristics. Design/methodology/approach The study used a quantitative approach and data were collected from 243 managers working in China. Multivariate analysis of variance and box plots were employed for data analysis. Findings The results revealed that organizational characteristics were found to have a significant positive impact on managers’ skill levels, and hard-to-fill vacancies caused by skills shortages were found in all types of organizations. Existing and deficient skills were also identified as affecting all organizations. Practical implications The results suggest that organizations would benefit from the adoption of a system supporting internal retention, training and development and external recruitment to close the skills gaps. Originality/value This is an empirical study that provides an insight into the skills shortages from a multi-organizational context. It highlights the effects of organizational characteristics in relation to skills shortages and provides a foundation to support the skills needed in the context of national and global organizations.