Human resource management and social network analysis

Human resource management research has been traditionally focused on individual and job attributes. Juman resource management research and practice could be furthered by studying attributes of relationships between individuals or jobs. Some fields where social network analysis is useful are (Hollenbeck and Jamieson, 2015):

• Identification and selection of employees. Social network analysis can help to predict future performance, for instance, by identifying what kind of employees plays brokerage roles across structural holes (i.e., links otherwise disconnected subgroups). It can also help to identify talent pools outside the organization, by identifying relationships of employees with external actors. Finally, it can help to identify isolated actors, which may have higher probabilities of turnover.
• Improving training and development programs. The outcome of training efforts depends of a strong network among employees. The identification of friendship and advice networks can help to improve communication, manage organizational culture and foster strategy implementation.
• Guide compensation and pay decisions by identifying key employees. Organizations must reward their employees on the results and behaviors that it expects from them. Most of this traits are socially driven (e.g., effective teamwork and prosocial behaviour, or integrating new employees). Social network analysis helps to recognize who is demonstrating these behaviours. 

References

Hollenbeck, J. R., & Jamieson, B. B. (2015). Human capital, social capital, and social network analysis: Implications for strategic human resource management. Academy of management perspectives, 29(3), 370-385.

Core and critical cities of global region airport networks

Citation

Lordan, O., & Sallan, J. M. (2019). Core and critical cities of global region airport networks. Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, 513, 724-733.
doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physa.2018.08.123

Abstract

Air transport is one of the key infrastructures of today’s global economy. Connections between airports define airport networks, where nodes are cities served by airports, connected by edges if there is at least one direct flight connecting them. The aims of this research are to relate structural properties of airport networks which explain how these networks respond to isolation of critical nodes, and to gain insight into relevant socio-economic factors that influence the development of airport networks. We split the world airport network (WAN) into seven global region airport networks (GRANs), using the divisions established by OAG database. We gather information about structural properties of each GRAN determining core cities through k-core decomposition, and critical cities through robustness analysis. We find that differences of robustness across GRANs can be explained by the fraction of core cities relative to total cities. Furthermore, analysis of multilevel structure reveal relevant differences between GRANs, rooted on geographical and socio-economic factors, and give insight about how network robustness in airport networks can be enhanced.

Efficient multi-unit procurement mechanism with supply disruption risk

Citation

Xiang, J., Zhang, J., & Sallan, J. M. (2018). Efficient multi-unit procurement mechanism with supply disruption risk. Journal of Interdisciplinary Mathematics, 21(4), 883-895.
doi: 10.1080/09720502.2018.1478250

Abstract

In this paper, we study the multi-attribute multi-unit procurement mechanism design problem facing a set of potential suppliers who suffer from disruption risks. Each supplier's production cost depends on its disruption probability, and both are private information. We propose a Vickery-Clark-Groves auction with disruption risk (VCG-DR) for this problem and show that the mechanism is incentive-compatible, individual-rational and social efficient. Moreover, we compare the performance of the proposed mechanism and the popular single-attribute multi-unit forward auction (SA-MFV) with reserved attribute by numerical experiments. The results show that VCG-DR outperforms SA-MFV in both social efficiency and optimality.

The triple helix model of innovation

Etzkowitz and Leydesdorff (2000) present the evolution of innovation systems in terms of academia-state-industry relationships, which has taken three different models. In the etatistic model, the nation state encompasses academia and industry and directs the relations between them. The laissez-faire model consists of separate the three institutional spheres with strong borders dividing them and highly circumscribed relations among the spheres. The Triple Helix model is a knowledge infrastructure of overlapping institutional spheres,each taking the role of the other and with hybrid organizations emerging at the interfaces. These hybrid organization can be university spin-off firms, tri-lateral initiatives for knowledge-based economic development and strategic alliances among firms, government laboratories and academic research groups. The Triple Helix model represents an evolution from linear models of innovation (mode 1), with defined transitions between basic research, applied research and experimental development to nonlinear models of innovation (mode 2).

The integration of academia in innovation systems leads to an expansion of the mission of the university (Etzkowitz, 2003). The first mission of university was preservation and dissemination of knowledge through teaching. The first academic revolution made research a second university mission, and the second revolution added the technology transfer and economic development missions. The second revolution transformed the way that research was organized in academia: from professors assisted by assistants to research groups where professors and assistant professors have large autonomy, assisted by graduate students. The development of research groups leads to individual and collective entrepreneurship within academia, and to increasing collaboration with the state and the industry. The new mission of the university motivates the creation of new organizational units, like enterprise incubators and technology transfer units. University management has to choose between separating or integrating business activities and managing conflicts of interest.

Carayannis and Campbell (2009) introduces a fourth element in the triple helix model, which is the media-based and culture-based public. This fourth elements emphasizes the need that innovation policy should communicate its objectives and rationales to the public to seek for legitimation and justification. This can be achieved through cultural artifacts such as movies, that can arise awareness on utility of innovation among the public for supporting R&D policies and to enroll prospective students in science and engineering.

References

Carayannis, E. G., & Campbell, D. F. J. (2009). “Mode 3” and “Quadruple Helix”: toward a 21st century fractal innovation ecosystem. International Journal of Technology Management, 46(3/4), 201. http://doi.org/10.1504/IJTM.2009.023374

Etzkowitz, H. (2003). Research groups as ‘quasi-firms’: the invention of the entrepreneurial university. Research Policy, 32(1), 109–121. http://doi.org/10.1016/S0048-7333(02)00009-4

Etzkowitz, H., & Leydesdorff, L. (2000). The dynamics of innovation: from National Systems and “Mode 2” to a Triple Helix of university–industry–government relations. Research Policy, 29(2), 109–123. http://doi.org/10.1016/S0048-7333(99)00055-4

Student-perceived organizational support and perceived employability in the marketing of higher education

Citation

Trullas, I., Simo, P., Fusalba, O. R., Fito, A., & Sallan, J. M. (2018). Student-perceived organizational support and perceived employability in the marketing of higher education. Journal of Marketing for Higher Education, 1–16.
UPCommons:
doi: http://doi.org/10.1080/08841241.2018.1488334

Abstract

In the current context, the need for marketing in institutions of higher education is undeniable. The specification of the student not merely as a ‘customer’ means that traditional marketing no longer has sufficient capacity to explain the behavior of the student body. In this study, a four-level relationship marketing model is tested to check the influence of perceived organizational support (POS) and perceived employability on identification with the institution and the perceived price-quality ratio and how these influence student satisfaction. In addition, the constructs prior to POS and perceived employability are identified, which are explicit enough to enable specific marketing actions to be carried out. As POS is a construct defined for the labor market, its use applied to relational marketing comes up as something innovative.

To this end, Likert scales have been designed and validated to measure these constructs. The results of this test show how the perception of organizational support depends on the relationship of the student body with the administration and management of the center. Likewise, the perception of employability depends on the perceived reputation and the perception of the promotion of employability. Furthermore, it is confirmed that satisfaction is positively related to identification and the perceived price-quality ratio, which in turn are positively related to organizational support and perceived employability.

Transformational leadership and organizational commitment: mediating role of leader-member exchange

Citation

Keskes, I., Sallan, J. M., Simo, P., & Fernandez, V. (2018). Transformational leadership and organizational commitment: mediating role of leader-member exchange. Journal of Management Development, 37(3), 271–284.
UPCommons: http://hdl.handle.net/2117/117487
doi: http://doi.org/10.1108/JMD-04-2017-0132

Abstract

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to propose and to test three models in order to examine the mechanisms through which dimensions of transformational leadership influence different forms of organizational commitment by testing the possible mediating role of leader-member exchange (LMX) dimensions.

Design/methodology/approach
The participants in this study are represented by 427 senior executive French employees having a university degree and minimum two years of work experience in their current organization. The relationships between different variables were analyzed using structural equation modeling.

Findings
The results indicate that the dimensions of LMX mediated the relationships between the dimensions of transformational leadership and organizational commitment dimensions. The contribution dimension of LMX acts as a consequence, rather than an antecedent of commitment. These findings are important since they may serve as a bind between leadership dimensions and the kind of organizational commitment that each of these dimensions can generate in followers.

Originality/value
To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first empirical study that tests the interaction of transformational leadership and LMX on organizational commitment in a French context. The originality of this work leads on investigating these three concepts as multidimensional constructs and focusing on the mediating role of LMX in the relationship between dimensions of transformational leadership and different forms of organizational commitment which can be considered as a novelty in the field of research in this area. As a result, this study addresses concerns about that lack of academic research on the mechanisms by which transformational leaders influence the organizational commitment of their followers.

The six emotional stages of organizational change

Citation

Castillo, C., Fernandez, V., & Sallan, J. M. (2018). The six emotional stages of organizational change. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 31(3), 468–493.

doi: http://doi.org/10.1108/JOCM-05-2016-0084
UPCommons: http://hdl.handle.net/2117/118032

Abstract

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to define a model that both describes the evolution of the emotional stages of individuals during perceived negative organizational change and explains the evolution of their behavioral patterns and the effects on relationships with social environments (family, friends, co-workers, supervisor and organization).

Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative methodological research design was adopted, using individual interviews as the primary method of qualitative data collection. In total, 15 people who experienced perceived negative organizational changes participated in this research.

Findings
Through empirical qualitative research, an adapted Kübler (1969) model was used as a starting point. Co-occurrence analysis of the interviews led to the combination of the first two stages (denial and anger) of this model because they always appeared together. Two new stages (revising and deserting), based on the research of Schalk and Roe (2007), complete the model. Subsequently, the model comprised six emotional stages: denial and anger, bargaining, depression, revising, deserting and acceptance. The results show that individuals can move freely between the first four stages, but deserting and acceptance are always the final stages. Experiencing these emotional stages can influence the relationships between individuals and their social environments. During “denial and anger” and “bargaining,” the relationships with family, friends and co-workers improve; but during depression, the relationships with family and friends deteriorate, but because co-workers become much more important, those relationships improve. Relationships with supervisors deteriorate during denial and anger and depression but remain stable during bargaining.

Research limitations/implications
Time’s passage became an inconvenience accounted for during data collection. Over time, separate events can be confused, and nuances that were once determinants can be eliminated. Longitudinal studies at various stages of the change process would complement these results.

Practical implications
These results can guide managers in foreseeing and anticipating the actions that would reduce the emotional impact of organizational change and mitigate the impact of individuals’ negative emotions on the organization.

Originality/value
This paper extends the existing theory about the strategies of coping and organizational changes.