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1 – 10 of 28Fang Chen, Hari Bapuji, Bruno Dyck and Xiaoyun Wang
Although knowledge transfer is generally conceived as a two‐way process in which knowledge is transferred to and from the knowledge source, research has tended to focus on…
Abstract
Purpose
Although knowledge transfer is generally conceived as a two‐way process in which knowledge is transferred to and from the knowledge source, research has tended to focus on the first part of the process and neglect the second part. This study aims to examine the feedback loop and how knowledge is transferred from the knowledge receiver to the knowledge source.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper relies on interviews and archival records to conduct an in‐depth case study of cross‐border knowledge transfer work carried out by a Canadian non‐profit organization.
Findings
The paper finds that by learning about receivers' knowledge, background and learning styles, as well as their social context or learning environment, such as language, culture, tradition and history, “source” persons are in fact able to acquire for themselves valuable new knowledge. This in turn assists both the source and receiver to establish shared understandings, thereby facilitating a more effective knowledge transfer thus enhancing learning for both the source and receiver.
Research limitations/implications
Given that this is a case study of one organization, the findings of this study may not be readily generalizable to other organizations, or settings. Despite this limitation, the study raises some important questions for further investigation and contributes to existing research on intercultural knowledge transfer.
Practical implications
Individuals involved in knowledge transfer who pay attention to the feedback loop can better perform their roles and also improve their knowledge.
Originality/value
It has been acknowledged in the literature that expatriates engage in extensive learning while transferring knowledge in their overseas assignments. However, little research has examined what they have learned, how they learn, and the benefits of such learning. This research suggests that knowledge sources can enhance their own knowledge as well as improve knowledge transfer to recipients by nurturing feedback loops.
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Louise Tourigny, Vishwanath V. Baba and Xiaoyun Wang
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of role stressors on job stress among airline employees in mainland China. More specifically, the aggravating…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of role stressors on job stress among airline employees in mainland China. More specifically, the aggravating effects of shift work and the mitigating effects of decision latitude are explored to facilitate strategies of intervention aimed at reducing job stress.
Design/methodology/approach
Data are collected using a field survey in Mandarin from 485 airline employees, including pilots, flight attendants, and service employees in five major cities in mainland China.
Findings
The findings demonstrate that role overload and role conflict have significant positive effects on job stress. Furthermore, both shift work and its interference with non‐work activities significantly elevated the impact of role overload on job stress. Findings also reveal that decision latitude mitigated the detrimental effect of role overload on job stress for employees working on fixed shift, but not for employees working on rotating shift.
Research limitations/implications
This is a cross‐sectional study using perceptual measures.
Practical implications
The findings suggest that aviation managers in China need to focus not only on decision latitude but also on job and organizational design to mitigate the impact of job demands on stress. While decision latitude works to ease demands among those who work on fixed shifts, it does not work in the same way for those working on rotating shifts.
Originality/value
This paper corroborates the cross‐cultural applicability of stress theory by demonstrating the detrimental role of rotating shift on stress while at the same time calling attention to some cultural shaping of the findings.
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Serdar Durmusoglu, Mark Jacobs, Dilek Zamantili Nayir, Shaista Khilji and Xiaoyun Wang
– The purpose of this paper is to clarify the role of organizational culture and rewards in stimulating the sharing and gaining of knowledge.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to clarify the role of organizational culture and rewards in stimulating the sharing and gaining of knowledge.
Design/methodology/approach
Hierarchical regression using survey data.
Findings
The analyses show that rewards and organizational culture of knowledge transfer influence the knowledge shared and knowledge gained. Moreover, culture and rewards interact to influence knowledge gained, but not knowledge shared which leads to the conclusion knowledge gaining can be induced by rewards, even in the absence of a supportive culture.
Research limitations/implications
The findings are consistent with socio-technical theory (STT) and the discussion positions this perspective as useful for future knowledge management studies. This research confirms that knowledge sharing and gaining are uniquely different activities that respond differently to culture and rewards.
Originality/value
This study combines the work of different fields by focusing on knowledge sharing and gaining in a single study. Through this process, a bridge between organizational learning theory and STT is revealed.
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Vishwanath V. Baba, Louise Tourigny, Xiaoyun Wang, Terri Lituchy and Silvia Inés Monserrat
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of job demand, job control, and supervisory support on stress among nurses in China, Japan, Argentina, and the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of job demand, job control, and supervisory support on stress among nurses in China, Japan, Argentina, and the Caribbean using the Job demand‐control (JDC) and the Job demand‐control‐support (JDCS) models.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors have employed a comparative research design, cross‐sectional survey methodology with convenient random sampling, and a commonly used statistical analytic strategy.
Findings
The results highlight that job demand, job control, and supervisory support are important variables in understanding stress among nurses. This has been corroborated in China, Japan, Argentina, and the Caribbean. Based on their findings and what is available in the literature, the authors report that the JDCS model has universal significance albeit it works somewhat differently in different contexts.
Originality/value
This study's contribution comes from its comparative nature, theoretical anchor, its use of one of the most popular models of stress, its focus on a profession that is demonstrably stressed, its use of common measures and an established analytic strategy. The study's findings underscore the cross‐cultural usefulness and application of the JDCS model along with its threshold and substitution effects and limiting conditions.
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This paper aims to raise some important questions for cross‐cultural research on occupational stress and well‐being and sets the stage for the five papers in the special issue.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to raise some important questions for cross‐cultural research on occupational stress and well‐being and sets the stage for the five papers in the special issue.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper reviews some previous literature on cross‐cultural understanding of occupational stress and well‐being, why such research is difficult to undertake, and summarizes the five original manuscripts that comprise this special issue.
Findings
Manuscripts in this special issue represent authors from several countries and report data collected from over a dozen countries. Some contributions attempt to replicate previous North American and European research findings in other countries while others undertake comparative studies of two or more countries.
Originality/value
It is important to undertake more cross‐cultural comparative research of the effects of occupational stress and well‐being to determine whether any boundary conditions exist for previous results based in North American and European samples. In addition, future research should include assessments of some national culture values.
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The purpose of this paper is to develop a systematic understanding of the mechanisms through which high-performance work systems (HPWSs) facilitate the incremental and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop a systematic understanding of the mechanisms through which high-performance work systems (HPWSs) facilitate the incremental and radical innovative capabilities of organizations. Using a knowledge-based view of the firm, the paper introduces the mediating role of intellectual capital (composed of human, organizational and social capital) while examining this issue.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected using a questionnaire survey approach from 164 firms in the People's Republic of China. The paper used analyses based on structural equation modeling to measure the main constructs and test the hypothesized relationships among the variables.
Findings
The results indicate that HPWSs contribute to both the incremental and radical innovative capabilities of organizations. In addition, intellectual capital mediates the relationships between HPWSs and different types of innovative capabilities. Specifically, organizational and social capital mediate the relationship between HPWSs and incremental innovative capability, whereas social capital mediates the relationship between HPWSs and radical innovative capability.
Originality/value
The study supports and expands on the strategic human resource management (SHRM) literature and knowledge-based view of the firm in terms of whether, why and how HPWSs can develop a competitive advantage on the basis of innovation.
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Wei Jia and Xiaoyun Liu
– What this paper aims to tackle is how much did the return of rural migrant labor during the financial crisis affect China's GDP and the growth rate of the national economy.
Abstract
Purpose
What this paper aims to tackle is how much did the return of rural migrant labor during the financial crisis affect China's GDP and the growth rate of the national economy.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper constructs a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model and uses data of China's 2007 Input-Output Table to analyze the impact of the return of rural migrant labor on China's economy during the financial crisis.
Findings
The results show that the return of rural migrant labor during the financial crisis had substantial impacts on China's economy. The national GDP decreased by about 0.499-1.463 percent, mainly due to the number of rural labor who migrated from the non-agricultural sector to agriculture. Of the major sectors of economy, the manufacturing, construction and other services sectors were the most affected.
Originality/value
This paper assesses the impacts of return of rural migrant labor during the financial crisis on China's GDP and the growth rate of the national economy.
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Xiaoyun Liu, Wanchun Luo, Xuefeng Mao, Xiuqing Wang and Xian Xin
The paper aims to assess the impact of agricultural output changes on the general price level over time with China as an example.
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to assess the impact of agricultural output changes on the general price level over time with China as an example.
Design/methodology/approach
A simple numerical global general equilibrium (GE) model of two regions (China and the rest of the world) and three commodities (agriculture, manufacturing goods, and services) is used to assess the impacts of agricultural output changes on the overall economy price changes. The numerical GE model of this paper consists of production, final consumption, and market clear conditions. The results are generated with the GE model calibrated to aggregated China's input‐output tables of 1987, 1997, and 2005.
Findings
The results suggest that China witnessed a declining influence of agricultural output changes on general price changes. The contribution of given agricultural output change on the general price change in 2005 was merely less than 60 percent of that in 1987, which in turn implies that macro policies targeting to curb general inflation via boosting agricultural output will be less effective as those of 20 years ago.
Practical implications
China's policy makers should rely less and less on promoting agricultural output policies to fight against general inflation and should resort to non‐agricultural policies.
Originality/value
The paper argues that the influence of agriculture on the China's general price indices has been weakening along with China's economic development with a numerical GE model calibrated to aggregated China's input‐output tables of 1987, 1997, and 2005.
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Xiaoyun Liu, Xiuqing Wang and Xian Xin
China's agricultural sector has developed very rapidly in the past 30 years and agricultural technological progress is deemed one of the most substantial factors leading…
Abstract
Purpose
China's agricultural sector has developed very rapidly in the past 30 years and agricultural technological progress is deemed one of the most substantial factors leading to its rapid agricultural GDP growth. The purpose of this paper is to assess the impacts of China's agricultural technological changes on its regional disparity.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model of multiple regions and multiple sectors to investigate the impacts of agricultural technological changes on regional disparity. The CGE model structure includes production side, demand side, and market clearing conditions.
Findings
The results suggest that agricultural technological changes significantly reduced China's agricultural regional disparity and accounted for 40 percent reduction in agricultural regional disparity in terms of agricultural GDP per capita. Agricultural technological changes, however, led to an increase in China's overall regional disparity and accounted for 6 percent increase in its overall regional disparity in terms of per capita GDP.
Practical implications
China's GDP has been growing very rapidly since 1978 and agricultural GDP has been playing a decreasing role in China's overall GDP. Regional disparity in non‐agricultural GDP per capita overweighted the equalization of agricultural GDP per capita. The results imply that the Chinese government should resort more to non‐agricultural development to fight against the enlarging regional disparity.
Originality/value
China's agricultural technological changes have led to an increase in China's overall regional disparity while the changes have significantly reduced China's agricultural regional disparity.
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