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In the literature, evidence is to be found of the positive effect of high-performance work systems (HPWSs) on innovation in firms. However, innovation is enabled by not only human resources but also digital technology, and scholars have called for further investigation into the interplay between digital technology and HRM systems. Drawing on signalling theory and HPWSs research, the purpose of this study is to explore the moderating role of digital technologies in the relationship between HPWSs and innovation in the firm and consider employee participation as an additional conditioning factor.

This study uses data from the European Company Suvery 2019 administered in a sample of more than 20,000 European establishments and applies logistic regression with a three-way interaction.

HPWSs underpin product and process innovation. Moreover, this study shows that in firms with low levels of employee participation, digital technology enhances the effect of HPWSs on innovation, while in firms with high levels of employee participation, this effect is reduced.

This study enriches the scholarly discussion about the link between HPWSs and innovation in the firm, by investigating in theoretical and empirical terms the moderating effect of digital technology, underlining that either positive or negative synergistic effects are possible. By adding employee participation to the analysis, the authors cast light on an important boundary condition for understanding when the synergic effects become more prominent. This intends to respond to recent calls from scholars and practitioners for more insight into the precise nature of the synergies between HPWSs and digital technology on innovation in the firm, with important implications for management.

Collaboration is a common phenomenon in human society. The best way of collaborations can make the group achieve the best interests. Because of the low cost and high repeatability of simulation, it is a good method to explore the best way of collaborations by means of simulation. The traditional simulation is difficult to adapt to the crowd intelligence network simulation, so the crowd collaborations simulation is proposed.

In this paper, the atomic swarm intelligence unit and collective swarm intelligence unit are proposed to represent the behavior of individuals and groups in physical space and the interaction between them.

To explore the best collaboration mode of the group, a framework of crowd collaborations simulation is proposed, which decomposes the big goal into the small goals by constructing the cooperation chain and analyzes the cooperation results and feeds them back to the next simulation.

Two kinds of swarm intelligence units are used to represent the simulated individuals in the group, and the pattern is used to represent individual behavior. It is suitable for the simulation of collaboration problems in various types and situations.

A range of studies have shown that performance is typically higher in organisations with employee share ownership (ESO) schemes in place. Many possible causal mechanisms explaining this relationship have been suggested. These include a reduction in labour turnover, synergies with other forms of productivity-enhancing communication and participation schemes, and synergies with employer-provided training. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

This paper empirically assesses these potential linkages using data from the 2004 and 2011 British Workplace Employment Relations Surveys, and provides comparisons with earlier analyses conducted on the 1990 and 1998 versions of the survey.

Substantial differences are found between the 2004 and 2011 results: a positive relationship between ESO and workplace productivity and financial performance, observed in 2004, is no longer present in 2011. In both years, ESO is found to have no clear relationship with labour turnover, and there is no significant association between turnover and performance. There is, however, a positive moderating relationship with downward communication schemes in 2004 and in 2011 in the case of labour productivity. There is no corresponding relationship for upward involvement schemes.

The results are only partially supportive of extant theory and its various predictions, and the relationship between ESO and performance seems to have weakened over time.

The study further questions the rhetoric offered in support of wider ESO.

This study aims to improve the rules and regulations system of high-speed rail emergency disposal.

Based on the analysis of the demands, rules and regulations of China concerning on-site high-speed rail emergency disposal, basic principles for revising the regulations on railway technical management (RRTM) are proposed and suggestions and evaluation methods according to the main clauses are put forward.

Basic principles for revising the RRTM are proposed, namely “to meet the actual needs of on-site high-speed railway emergency disposal, standardize the emergency disposal process, improve the efficiency of emergency disposal and keep the consistency between provisions of emergency disposal”. Existing provisions related to emergency disposal efficiency, scenarios, safety and service quality are made up for the deficiencies. To make up for the deficiencies of the existing provisions related to emergency disposal efficiency, improvement of emergency disposal scenarios and guarantee of emergency disposal safety and quality, this paper puts forward suggestions on revising 15 emergency disposal provisions of the RRTM with regard to earthquake monitoring and warning, in-station foreign body invasion warning, air conditioning failure of EMU trains and forced parking of trains in sections. A fuzzy comprehensive evaluation model based on the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is constructed to evaluate the proposed revision scheme and suggestions, which has been highly recognized by experts.

This study implements the goal of high-quality railway development.

Studying abroad is not new for Hong Kong students, especially those from the middle class. For a variety of reasons, traversing to Mainland universities has been an unconventional path confined mostly to students who pursued specific programs, or had family or social ties. Beginning in 2012, an admission scheme was launched for Hong Kong students applying to Mainland universities. The purpose of this paper is to review the admission scheme.

This paper draws on both quantitative and qualitative data sources. It includes statistics from official records of students’ application and enrollment figures, and documents obtained from multiple sources, as well as qualitative data through interviews of Hong Kong students who are studying in the Mainland universities.

The key findings are that since the implementation of the admission scheme, the number of applicants is rather stable irrespective of the changing socio-economic and political context. With the preferential treatment for Hong Kong students, low tuition fees, government financial assistance and scholarships, most students still consider studying in the Mainland a backup plan rather than a first choice. The academic performance of the students and academic/career aspirations have influenced their choice and decisions.

This paper contributes through providing both primary and secondary data to help understand the level of acceptance on the scheme since its implementation. It also reveals the perceptions of the students who have made their choice to study cross the border. In facing the emergent economic, socio-cultural and political challenges, some policies recommendations are proposed to boost the acceptance of the scheme. Moreover, it fills the research gap on student mobility from Hong Kong to Mainland China in the corpus of literature.

Drawing on the theoretical concept of organisational fit, this paper questions the relevance of employees' participation in the link between continuous improvement (CI) and operational performance. The literature has long emphasised that to be successful, CI implementation needs to rely on employees' involvement as soon as its inception. This paper argues that this approach is not generalisable.

Based on a database of 330 firms across 15 countries, regression analyses were used to hypothesise that the fit between CI and employee participation is positively associated with operational performance, and that the fit between CI and centralisation of authority is negatively associated with operational performance. The authors also ran a robustness check with polynomial regression analyses and the response surface methodology.

CI–employee participation fit is positively associated with operational performance, suggesting that there is less need for employees to be involved when a firm has scarcely developed CI. Employee participation becomes gradually more relevant as CI progresses. Moreover, the results demonstrate that the CI–centralisation of authority fit is negatively associated with operational performance, suggesting that a top-down management approach with centralised authority is preferable when CI is low, whereas a bottom-up management approach is helpful when a firm has extensively developed CI.

This research draws on the concept of organisational fit to explore the relationships between internal practices in the operations management literature. The authors suggest that managers should dynamically balance the practices of employee participation and centralisation of authority as CI improves. This study highlights that CI has different evolutionary levels that require different managerial approaches and practices.

The purpose of this paper is to examine innovation in the resource-constrained context of India’s healthcare industry. It is argued that the process of innovation in addressing healthcare management challenges in such a context occurs through organisational ambidexterity and that human resource management (HRM) plays an important role.

A qualitative research methodology is applied to explore the role of HR practices in facilitating contextual ambidexterity and subsequent innovations in healthcare in India. The unit of analysis is the “case” of healthcare providers in India and in-depth interview and documentary data in two case sites are analysed to reveal the role of HRM in facilitating contextual ambidexterity and innovation. Data analysis was undertaken first at a within-case and then at a cross-case analysis level using interpretive manual coding based on how the data explained the role of HRM in delivering innovative outcomes and supporting organisational ambidexterity.

The authors found evidence of the use of sets of high-involvement HRM practices for exploration of new ideas and efficiency-driven HRM practices for creating contextual ambidexterity in the case organisations. Further, managerial/leadership style was found to play an important role in creating cultures of trust, openness, risk-taking and employee empowerment, supported by an appropriate mix of intrinsic and extrinsic rewards. Finally, training was also reported as being central to creating an ambidextrous context for delivering on various innovations in these healthcare providers.

This study represents an exploration of innovation in the context of India’s healthcare sector through intersecting literatures of ambidexterity, innovation and HRM practices. In light of the emerging economy research context, an important empirical contribution is palpable. Moreover, through a study design which included collecting data from multiple informants on the role of human resources in facilitating innovative outcomes, the authors reveal the role of HR-related initiatives, beyond formal HR practices in creating contextual ambidexterity. This study also reveals the degree to which contextual idiosyncrasies enhance our understanding of the role of HR in facilitating innovation in emerging economies.

Involving employees in making management decisions is a powerful way to enhance organizational performance. However, employee involvement (EI) might exacerbate psychosocial stress at work. This paper aims to investigate this issue, illuminating the implications of EI on work-related stress.

Secondary data were collected from the third wave of the European Survey of Enterprises on New and Emerging Risks. A conditional process analysis based on ordinary least square regression and bootstrap sampling was accomplished to obtain evidence of the implications of EI on psychosocial risks (PSR) at work, taking into consideration the mediating role of organizational health promotion initiatives (HPI).

EI increased the sources of psychosocial stress at work, adding to individual job demands. Involving employees was positively related to a greater organizational concern for HPI, which, in turn, lessened psychosocial strain.

Although it contributes to organizational performance, EI propels work-related stress, which undermines individual and collective wellbeing. Involvement practices should be coupled with tailored HPI to address the PSR at work triggered by involvement, empowering people to cope with strain.

Scientific literature emphasizes the positive implications of EI on organizational performance, but little is known about its side effects on work-related stress. The paper provides original insights into this topic, arguing that HPI are necessitated to address the drawback of involvement on work-related stress.

In this paper a systematic and well-defined student participation assessment scheme for college courses is proposed. The scheme supports the involvement of students in a variety of areas of participation within and outside the classroom with the aim of improving their learning. The scheme addresses mostly the challenges related to the practicality of the structure and design of the assessment. It also addresses the subjectivity of grading student participations. Areas of participation are widened to allow the faculty more accurate information about the conduct of each individual student towards more objective assessment. In addition, it provides the faculty with the flexibility to select areas that best fit the learning outcomes, nature of the course, availability of time and resources, and class atmosphere. The proposed scheme is initiated and developed using feedback from the teaching staff of Nizwa College of Technology, (NCT) through a survey and open discussion. The results indicate that over two thirds of the surveyed staff show agreement with the concept of assessing participation and find the scheme design clear and systematic, while 82% of them perceive the scheme as effective in improving the motivation and learning of students.

This paper summarizes the severity of global warming, collaboration and endeavor within international government and the trend of international development for “energy-saving and emission reduction.” The Chinese government is enduring high pressure under the environment of “global warming” and “energy-saving and emission reduction” and it has made a policy for “energy-saving and emission reduction.” Based on this, we analyzed the possibility and feasibility for our logistics to “energy-saving and emission reduction,” then propose some solutions for our logistics industry to development and “energy-saving and emission reduction.”