Teamworking and performance: the extent and intensity of teamworking in the 1998 UK Workplace Employee Relations Survey (WERS98)

This article uses the 1998 UK Workplace Employee Relations Survey to address two main issues: whether a relationship between teamworking and performance can be said to exist; and, if it can, how that relationship might be explained. For the first of these we construct a variable that measures the extent of teamworking within an establishment. This is found to be positively and significantly related to productivity and financial performance. To address our second main issue we examine the idea that the key factor in performance is the degree of teams' decision-making autonomy. We look at this by constructing a measure of teamworking intensity. This is found to be positively and significantly associated with productivity and quality levels. Taken alongside other studies, these results are used to suggest that, in looking at the teamworking-performance relationship, the focus of attention should be on the structural properties of teams rather than the individual team members' experiences of work.     

Forecasting the Real Exchange Rate

This brief examines the historical relationship between exchange rates and relative inflation rates for a group of major industrial countries. It establishes the concept of the ‘real exchange rate’ and the ‘productivity-adjusted real exchange rate’ (PARE) as essential in understanding these relationships and projecting them into the future. It puts the discussion into the context of company decision making, as one important factor in the rate of return likely to accrue from different methods of supplying an overseas market. Differences in productivity between countries explain the divergences in prices of ‘non-traded goods’. To give a simple example, a haircut costs much more in New York than in Madrid since high US wages reflect high productivity which does not apply in many parts of the service sector. These differences rule out the acceptance of the over simple ‘purchasing power parity’ approach which assumes that exchange rates will settle at a point where all prices (in terms of a common currency) are the same everywhere, or move together. Even after account has been taken of differences in productivity growth, productivity-adjusted real exchange rates (PARE) - though reasonably stable - can still show some deviations, or ‘blips’. The ‘blip’ may occur because of rapid changes in the actual exchange rate or in domestic prices, in which case it is likely to prove temporary and the PARE rate will tend to adjust back to its normal level. But it may come from major structural changes, in which case PARE will be altered permanently within definable limits. A way of recognising the different categories of ‘blip’ is suggested in the brief. The PARE framework is then used to provide a guide to UK businesses who are concerned to calculate the future sterling value of foreign currency sales or, more generally, to estimate their competitiveness in supplying specific export markets. (The method used would apply equally well to other countries.) This is done by showing step-by-step the forecasting procedure to compute sterling's effective exchange rate to 1981 on assumptions concerning respective rates of inflation, monetary policy and the impact of North Sea oil. The computation shows that a sustained period of exchange rate stability is possible for the UK, even if UK inflation rates remain significantly above the world level for the next two years.     

科技型企业技术资源对财务竞争力的影响

科技型企业作为推动我国经济发展的新生力量,其发挥的作用不容小觑。本文主要对科技型企业的技术资源进行研究,选取了部分创业板上市公司作为研究样本,运用因子分析的方法对其财务竞争力进行综合评价,并运用灰色关联分析方法就科技型企业技术资源对财务竞争力的影响进行了实证研究,由此得出二者的关联度及结论,提出了科技型企业的技术资源配置应以人为本等相关政策建议,力求通过合理配置科技型企业技术资源来提高其财务竞争力。     

Canada's Global Competitiveness Challenge

A bstract . Any conclusions regarding Canada's competitiveness must be based on the criteria of total factor productivity rather than trade performance. The use of available data on merchandise export/import balance is misleading because merchandise trade , for instance, precludes trade in services. While trade performance criteria is less than sufficient in judging the competitiveness of Canada , close study of the total factor productivity criteria does not find evidence for the alleged "crisis of Canadian loss of competitiveness."     

Firm performance and knowledge spillovers from academic, industrial and foreign linkages: the case of China

Firm performance may be enhanced by linkages with academic institutions, other firms, and foreign markets that confer knowledge spillovers as well as internal R&D that creates firm-specific knowledge. In particular, firm productivity and innovation may be enhanced by positive externalities from knowledge and technology produced by universities and research institutions (URIs) and diffused to the domestic economy. Productive contributions from such linkages might be particularly expected in China, where policy measures have explicitly supported and facilitated connections between URIs and firms to stimulate economic development and competitiveness. In this paper, we measure the performance impact of such knowledge spillovers in Chinese firms by using a variety of specifications, estimators, and robustness checks, including an ??instrumental variable?? specification that controls for endogeneity. We find more patent activity in Chinese firms with URI connections and enhanced firm productivity particularly from linkages with research institutions (RIs). Introduction of new products, processes, and new businesses is also positively associated with linkages with research institutions, as well as with linkages with other firms.     

Technology capital: the price of admission to the growth club

We assess long-run patterns of global agricultural productivity growth between 1970 and 2005 and examine the relationship between investments in technology capital and productivity. To measure agricultural total factor productivity (TFP) we employ a Solow-type growth accounting method to decompose output growth into input and TFP growth. For technology capital we construct two indexes reflecting national capacities in agricultural research and education-extension for 87 developing countries. We then correlate technology capital levels with long-term growth rates in agricultural TFP. Our findings show that global agricultural TFP growth as a whole accelerated since 1980, although performance was very uneven across developing countries. TFP growth rates were significantly influenced by technology capital. Marginal improvements to research capacity, given a minimal level of extension and schooling existed, were associated with faster TFP growth. However, marginal increases in extension-schooling without commensurate improvements in research capacity did not improve productivity performance.     

How Governments Should Support the Adjustment of Competitiveness in the Euro Area – and How They Should Not

In addition to unsustainable fiscal policies, the weak competitiveness of southern European countries is contributing to the ongoing crisis in the euro area. However, wages and productivity are only one element of competitiveness and the value of competitive wages is hard to measure. Hard‐to‐identify non‐price competitiveness such as quality, innovation and technology of goods affects overall competitiveness too. Given the lack of information, the necessary level of wage adjustment needs to be negotiated on the market. Governments can support a market based adjustment of competitiveness by liberalising labour markets and by strengthening the business environment.     

基于ERP对离散型制造企业生产优化的研究

离散型制造企业由于其自身特点,其生产管理一直是企业的难题。文章主要从生产管理中的生产准备时间和生产排程两方面入手,以流程优化和约束理论为理论依据,运用ERP技术解决企业生产中在这两方面存在的问题,从而提升企业的生产效率和市场竞争力。     

科技金融对区域绿色全要素生产率影响的实证研究--基于全局DEA数学统计方法

提升绿色全要素生产率是实现高质量发展目标的关键措施。论文利用全局DEA数学统计方法,重点实证分析了科技金融对区域绿色全要素生产率的影响。研究认为:科技金融对区域绿色全要素生产率的提升具有显著促进作用。东部地区科技金融对绿色全要素生产率的提升效应大于中部地区,且中部地区的科技金融对绿色全要素生产率的提升效应大于西部地区。     

Productivity and Trade Orientation in UK Manufacturing*

We show that improvements in aggregate productivity in UK manufacturing during the first years after the implementation of the Euro, by the UK's main trading partners in Europe, are determined by both market share reallocation and within‐company productivity growth. Furthermore, we outline a structural methodology for estimating parameters of a production function linking the unobservable productivity to endogenous company‐level trade orientation, investment and exit decisions. This allows us to back out consistent and unbiased estimates of productivity dynamics by trade orientation of companies within four‐digit UK manufacturing industries using FAME data over the period 1994–2001. Our estimates of productivity dynamics indicate that improvements in aggregate productivity were mainly driven by market share reallocations away from inefficient and towards efficient exporting companies alongside productivity improvements within non‐exporting companies.     

Improving productivity and firm performance with enterprise resource planning

Productivity is generally considered to be the efficient utilisation of organisational resources and is measured in terms of the efficiency of a worker, company or nation. Focusing on efficiency alone, however, can be harmful to the organisation's long-term success and competitiveness. The full benefits of productivity improvement measures are realised when productivity is examined from two perspectives: operational efficiency (output/input) of an individual worker or a business unit as well as performance (effectiveness) with regard to end user or customer satisfaction. Over the years, corporations have adopted new technology to integrate business activities in order to achieve both effectiveness and efficiency in their operations. In recent years, many firms have invested in enterprise resource planning (ERP) in order to integrate all business activities into a uniform system. The implementation of ERP enables the firm to reduce the transaction costs of the business and improve its productivity, customer satisfaction and profitability.     

University-industry links: Government as blacksmith

With continuing high inflation, declining productivity, negative trade balances and other indicators pointing to diminishing technology leads in the United States, considerable emphasis is being placed on the role of technology innovation in increasing productivity and international trade competitiveness and in combatting inflation. One element in creating an environment more receptive to technology innovation is establishing appropriate linkages between universities, industry and government. Traditional linking mechanisms between universities and industry may not be adequate or flexible enough to meet the challenges of the next several decades. Based upon findings at several Congressional hearings, there is a need to encourage new mechanisms linking universities and industry. Several legislative initiatives have been proposed in the 96th Congress which would encourage such university-industry linkages.     

The role of human capital after the crisis in Italy: A regional analysis

In the years of the prolonged post-crisis recession, the well-known North-South divide in Italy has significantly worsened. Several structural weaknesses limit both post-crisis recovery and socioeconomic convergence. A greater understanding of the economic contribution of workers' human capital, which is not fully exploited in Italy, could address the two issues. We analyze the effects of human capital on local economic performance and productivity, along with other socioeconomic variables, controlling for the endogeneity problem. Workers with a better education can promote economic recovery through productivity enhancement in the South, while traditional aspects related to industrialization are significant in the “wealthy North”. However, structural aspects, such as the local financial systems, must be developed to start a path to convergence for the North and the South.     

Dimensions of Social Capital and Firm Competitiveness Improvement: The Mediating Role of Information Sharing

abstract    This study investigates the mediating role of information sharing in the relationships between dimensions of social capital and firm competitiveness, thereby positing a possible explanation for the divergent empirical results of the social capital–performance relationship in the existing literature. The study uses a sample of 108 Hong Kong-based Chinese family-owned firms from the manufacturing sector. Largely supporting the theoretical predictions, the results from multiple regression and structural equation model tests show that information sharing plays a mediating role in the relationships between three dimensions of social capital (trust, network ties, and repeated transactions) and firm competitiveness improvement.     

技术创新障碍及其提升机制的综述研究

随着现代科学技术和知识经济的发展,技术创新能力日益成为决定企业市场竞争力的重要指标。当前我国技术创新发展体系还不够成熟,存在一系列制约因素,主要包括体制因素、市场信息缺乏、消费者对于创新产品缺乏需求和信任以及技术创新高投入、高风险、高不确定性特征的约束。现阶段应继续在政策、法律等方面加大对企业创新的支持力度,并构建技术创新的服务和信息收集机制,促进企业技术创新能力的提升。     

The power of goal internalization: studying psychological empowerment in a Venezuelan plant

This study, based in a manufacturing plant in Venezuela, examines the relationship between perceived task characteristics, psychological empowerment and commitment, using a questionnaire survey of 313 employees. The objective of the study was to assess the effects of an organizational intervention at the plant aimed at increasing productivity by providing performance feedback on key aspects of its daily operations. It was hypothesized that perceived characteristics of the task environment, such as task meaningfulness and task feedback, will enhance psychological empowerment, which in turn will have a positive impact on employee commitment. Test of a structural model revealed that the relationship of task meaningfulness and task feedback with affective commitment was partially mediated by the empowerment dimensions of perceived control and goal internalization. The results highlight the role of goal internalization as a key mediating mechanism between job characteristics and affective commitment. The study also validates a Spanish-language version of the psychological empowerment scale by Menon (2001).     

The economic impact of migration: productivity analysis for Spain and the UK

Over the past 20?years labour has become increasingly mobile and whilst employment and earnings effects in host countries have been extensively analysed, the implications for firm and industry performance have received far less attention. This paper explores the direct economic consequences of immigration on host nations?? productivity performance at a sectoral level in two very different European countries, Spain and the UK. Whilst the UK has traditionally seen substantial immigration, for Spain the phenomenon is much more recent. Our findings from a growth accounting analysis show that migration has made a negative contribution to labour productivity growth in Spain and a negative but negligible contribution in the UK. This difference is driven by a positive impact from migrant labour quality in the UK. This finding broadly holds across all sectors, but we note considerable variation in magnitudes. Labour productivity growth has a neutral contribution from migrant labour in construction and personal services in the UK, whilst in every case in Spain the effect is negative, most strongly in agriculture. Using an econometric approach to production function estimation we observe a positive long term effect on total factor productivity from migrant workers in the UK and a negative effect in Spain. Our findings suggest that either the UK is better at assimilating migrants or is more selective in terms of who is permitted to migrate.     

A quantitative reassessment of the purchasing power parity hypothesis: Evidence from Norway and the United Kingdom

Annual data from Norway and the United Kingdom from 1874 to 1971 are used to reassess the empirical performance of the purchasing power parity (PPP) doctrine. The simple version of the PPP relationship is supported by the data only if different short-run dynamics during a floating-rate period 1914–1928 is allowed for. Two sets of factors were found to be important in amending the simple PPP model. These were short-run cyclical variables affecting the adjustment towards the PPP equilibrium relationship and long-run structural factors such as productivity and terms of trade. Within this expanded model the proportionality between the exchange rate and relative price levels could not be rejected.     

Are systems of innovation in Eastern Europe efficient?

This paper explores the determinants of productivity in the countries of Eastern Europe (EE) through the perspective of ‘narrow’ and ‘broad’ national systems of innovation (NSI). Based on panel econometrics, it examines the extent to which systems in EE could be considered ‘(in)efficient’. Our results suggest that the EE countries have lower levels of productivity than might be expected given their research and development (R&D), innovation and production capabilities. The inefficiencies of ‘broad’ NSI are compounded by the inefficiencies of ‘narrow’ NSI in terms of generating numbers of science and technology publications and resident patents relative to R&D employment compared to the rest of the world. Our results point to an important distinction between technology and production capability as the drivers of productivity improvements and provide some policy implications.     

服务经济的文化内核:服务精神的内涵及其功能

服务经济的发展是产业结构调整和升级的一个必然结果。商业服务、社会服务等多种类型的服务行业构成了多元化的服务经济体系,服务经济的竞争将呈现出完全自由的市场竞争态势。服务经济的发展必须依赖服务经济核心竞争力的提升,而服务作为快速、无形的消费品,技术和产品质量等有形的竞争力都将通过一个最基本的事实体现出来,这就是服务精神。服务精神是服务经济发展的基础,也是促使服务经济不断成长的基本动力,如何理解服务精神及其对服务经济成长和生产率的影响是服务经济学研究的基本内容,将对服务精神的内涵进行全面分析,并分析服务精神和服务经济之间的关系。