Employee Investment Research Articles

Human Capital resource as cost or investment: A market-based analysis

This study empirically investigates the myopic behavior of the stock market toward firms’ human capital resource investment, paying particular attention to two key proxies: human resource expenditure and the firm value added allocated to the employees. Focusing on human capital resource investment decisions’ alignment with near versus longer-term emphasis by investors, we examine firms listed in the Financial Times Stock Exchange (FTSE) 100 over a five-year period using an established accounting-based valuation model. Our results show that human capital investment discourse leads to overweighting of the forecasted longer-term earnings in the apportionment of share price constituents, suggesting that investors consider investment in employees to generate more return in the longer-term. Additionally, our findings prove that investors respond to firm level human capital resource as an investment generating more return in the longer-term. This emphasises the importance of communicating human capital resource investment information that accurately reflects the firm value creation via employees in external financial reporting.

Prior Investments in Human Capital Reduce Layoffs Associated with COVID-19 Financial Pressures

This study examines how a firm’s pre-pandemic investments in human capital and physical capital influence its likelihood of engaging in layoffs in response to financial pressures in the early periods of the COVID-19 pandemic. Building on insights from the resource orchestration literature, we contend that layoff decisions must be examined in the context of firms’ path-dependent resource orchestration activities and in light of relevant environmental pressures. We specifically argue that firms with higher levels of pre-pandemic investment in employees’ human capital will be less likely to engage in layoffs in response to pandemic financial pressures based on the increased value embedded in their employees’ knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) and motivation. We further argue that firms’ pre-pandemic investments in physical capital will strengthen the mitigating effect of human capital investments on the likelihood of layoffs due to the complementarities that are likely to develop in the course of a firm’s concurrent investments in these two types of resources. We demonstrate support for our hypotheses in a sample of 709 U.S. banks using data from quarterly Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) reports, news articles, and Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notifications (WARN) Act filings through the second quarter of 2020. We discuss implications for our understanding of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on organizations and employees, for research examining how organizational factors shape the likelihood of layoffs in a crisis environment, and for research on resource orchestration and human capital.

Adaptation and development of human resources as an instrument of increasing the competitiveness of the organization

Introduction. There is a redistribution of the structure of workers; the amount of manual labor is reduced, while mental labor becomes more popular in modern conditions of modernization of production and use of advanced technologies. The role of the human factor is steadily growing; companies have very high demands on the skills and knowledge of employees. One of the key resources of competitiveness is the human resources of the company's employees. The process of adaptation and development of human resources as an instrument of increasing the competitiveness of the organization studied: V.V. Bezsmertna, T.Yu. Bazarov, L.B. Balabanova, O.V. Sardak, A.M. Grinenko, et.al. The purpose of the paper is to study the process of adaptation and development of human resources as an instrument of increasing the competitiveness of the organization. Results. The evolution of the notion of man as a subject of economic activity has contributed to the change in the concepts that define his place and role in this activity. The main functions of management and development of human resources in the labour market are planning, organization and control. These functions can be realized through a clear division of functions and job responsibilities, providing training, development and professional development, as well as organizing a system of employee motivation. Improving the level of education of employees as one of the priorities for the development of labour potential of the organization is due to the growth in the economy of services, which stimulates the need for information and development of employees. Conclusion. Thus, it should be noted that the development of human resources of the organization involves direct investment in employees, aimed at increasing their competitiveness and, consequently, the competitiveness of the organization. Implementing this task, management needs to identify and assess their employment’s opportunities, choose the best way to manage labor potential, be able to interest staff in development and thus increase human resources.

Sense of coherence and strategies for coping with stress among nurses

BackgroundThe nursing profession is associated with constant presence of difficult situations and stress, which arise from responsibility for the highest values – human life and health. With demographic changes in the society, the demand for nursing care increases. Looking after the health of nursing staff becomes a non-material investment in employees. One of the most important health potentials described in literature is the sense of coherence. It can significantly contribute to maintaining good health, modify one’s functioning in a stressful working environment and influence the choice of strategies for coping with stress.AimThe aim of the study was to describe the specific relationship between the sense of coherence and strategies for coping with stress in a group of professionally active nurses.Methodology and methodsThe study involved 91 nurses in central Poland, aged 22–52. The group was diversified in terms of: education, work system, marital status and place of residence. The study was conducted with the use of: Sense of Coherence Questionnaire SOC-29 and Inventory to Measure Coping Strategies with Stress - Mini-COPE. The study was conducted in accordance with the principles of scientific research set out in the Helsinki Declaration.ResultsThe sense of coherence value in the test group was M = 134.24 (SD = 19.55). In stressful situations nurses most often used active strategies to cope with stress: Planning M = 2.10 (SD = 0.54), Seeking Emotional Social Support M = 1.95 (SD = 0.68) and Seeking Instrumental Social Support M = 1.95 (SD = 0.69), and the least frequently: Alcohol/Drug Use M = 0.28 (SD = 0.48). The level of the sense of coherence and its components differentiated the strategies of coping with stress used in the examined group of nurses.ConclusionsThe research confirmed that the sense of coherence serves as a health potential in a stressful working environment - a high sense of coherence translate into better mental health, correct functioning in the working environment, and using adaptive strategies of coping with stress. Nurses with a stronger sense of coherence used more adaptive strategies to deal with stress than those with average or low levels.

Building Better Leaders to Update Oncology Care Post-Pandemic

Building Better Leaders to Update Oncology Care Post-Pandemic

Investment in Human Capital and External Reporting Quality

Ensuring that firms devote sufficient resources to the reporting process is important for quality reporting. To explore the effects of resources invested in the reporting function, we use a regulatory intervention in South Korea that led to an increase in human capital invested in the reporting process. The new regulation required firms to file internally prepared, pre-audited financial statements before the start of the year-end field audit process. Using the staggered adoption of this regulation, we confirm that the regulation leads to an increase in internal accounting employees at firms, and that the increase in rank-and-file accounting employees is more pronounced than the increase in top executives. Using difference-in-differences tests, we find improvement in external reporting quality (i.e., fewer restatements) for treatment firms relative to similar-size control firms that were not subject to the regulation. The effects are greater when an increase in accounting employees is accompanied by an increase in external audit effort, measured using audit hours. Treatment firms also show a drop in their hiring of non-accounting employees suggesting reallocation of labor inside the firm. The findings suggest that regulatory efforts to increase investment in internal accounting employees lead to improved reporting quality but can reduce labor forces in other non-accounting functions.

Shadow prices for intangible resources

PurposeFocusing on managerial problems related to the measurement of intangibles, this paper develops and validates a hedonic-pricing methodology for the evaluation of the intangible resources of companies obtaining their shadow prices.Design/methodology/approachThe paper adapts a hedonic-pricing methodology developed primarily for markets in real estate and secondhand cars to define how much intangibles may contribute to companies' market value. A certain calibration of the original tool has been developed to make this methodology appropriate for interpretation and practical use. The main advantage of this approach is that it allows for an evaluation of the shadow prices of intangible resources. These prices can be interpreted as the market value of the intangible resources which are not reflected on the balance sheet.FindingsThe results of this study demonstrate that hedonic pricing with a self-selection correction generates robust estimates. As one can see, the positive contribution of a high endowment of intangibles for all shadow prices is confirmed through estimations using two different techniques. Meanwhile, the negative effect of a low endowment is even more evident for the baseline model. This model shows consistent negative shadow prices for the majority of underinvested intangibles. Brands have the highest shadow prices in the introduced models; human capital, as measured by the qualification of top management and investments in employees, has likewise demonstrated high prices. However, most structural resources seem to be not reflected to a large degree in companies' market value.Practical implicationsThis paper brings new opportunities to obtain the monetary value of intangible resources based on estimated market prices of a corporation's resource portfolio. These prices may be used for several purposes – for example, benchmarking for performance management, capital budgeting or knowledge-management practices. Moreover, by having methodological value, this study opens ways to evaluate any other intangibles which are not explicitly discussed in the empirical test of this particular study.Originality/valueThis study primarily contributes to the methodological advancement of evaluation of corporate intangible resources. It departs from the conventional hedonic-pricing mechanism to identify cogent estimates to intangibles in monetary terms. Importantly, this mechanism implies individual shadow prices for specific intangible resources which makes the contribution of this study unique for the existing literature, both within resource-based and value-based views.

Employee Quality, Internal Information and Corporate Investment Efficiency: Firm Level Evidence

This study investigates the association between the quality of the entire workforces and corporate investment efficiency. We find that the superior internal information generated and collected by high quality employees can enhance managerial investment efficiency. This association is more pronounced in highly complicated firms, firms with more managerial shareholding or firms with higher board independence. The instrumental variable estimations help us establish a causal link between employee quality and investment efficiency. Finally, the validation tests show that firms operated by high-quality employees perform a more effective internal control system, and disclose high quality accounting reports, suggesting that the quality of internal information is indeed higher in these firms.

Employers' Willingness to Invest in the Training of Temporary Workers: A Discrete Choice Experiment

Various studies have shown that temporary workers participate less in training than those on permanent contracts. Human resources practices are considered to be an important explanation for this difference. We develop a theoretical framework for employers' provision of training that explicitly incorporates the costs and benefits associated with training investments in employees with different types of employment contracts. Our framework not only predicts employers to be less willing to invest in temporary workers due to the shorter time horizon associated with such an investment, but it also provides insights into how this willingness depends on characteristics of the training that are related to the expected costs and benefits of the training investment. A discrete choice experiment is used to empirically test the predictions from our theoretical framework. In line with our theoretical framework, we find that employers are less likely to invest in the training of temporary workers. This particularly holds when temporary workers do not have the prospect of a permanent contract with their current employer. Furthermore, we show that employers' likelihood of investing in temporary workers indeed depends on aspects related to the costs and benefits of training, that is, a financial contribution to the training costs made by employees, a repayment agreement that applies when workers leave the organisation prematurely, and the transferability of the skills being trained. Our findings can be used to increase employers' willingness to invest in temporary workers. However, similar effects are observed when looking at employers' willingness to invest in permanent workers, suggesting that it will be difficult to decrease the gap in employers' willingness to invest between temporary and permanent workers.

Identities Hidden in Challenges: The Sequential Mediation of Thriving at Work and Employee Investment.

The present study explores the influence of challenge stressors on identity orientation directly and via thriving at work and employee investment. Drawing on the broaden–and–build theory of positive emotions, this study proposes challenge stressors as a critical predictor of identity orientation. The purpose of this article is to explore if a particular identity is salient in different contextual factors, and this study suggests that challenge stressors stimulate personal, relational, and collective identities to respond to a situation. The relationships hypothesized in this study were tested using a sample of 225 employees from the banking sector of Pakistan. A time-lagged research design consisting of two waves of data collection was employed. A structural equation modeling technique was used to test the hypotheses regarding the relationship between challenge stressors and identity orientation, including the role of thriving at work and employee investment as intervening mechanisms of this relationship. Results showed that challenge stressors had a significant positive relationship with identity orientation. The results also confirmed the sequential mediation of thriving at work and employee investment in the relationship between challenge stressors and identity orientation. The findings suggest that the positive side of stress as a strength motivates employees for continued self-development. Importantly, challenge stressors enhance employees’ ability to thrive at work and, in turn, they invest in the work more and identify themselves strongly with their organization and work.

Social exchange and psychological ownership as complementary pathways from psychological contract fulfillment to organizational citizenship behaviors

PurposeSocial comparison and job-based psychological ownership (JPO) are compared and contrasted as explanations for relationships between organization relational psychological contract fulfillment (ORPCF) and organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs).Design/methodology/approachSurvey data were collected from 241 employees and 82 of their managers at an information services company. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling to test for hypothesized and exploratory indirect relationships.FindingsConsistent results were found for sequential mediation from ORPCF to employee investment of the self into the job, to JPO, to supervisor-rated helping and voice OCBs. Employees' perception of their relational psychological contract fulfillment (social exchange) did not simultaneously mediate the relationships between ORPCF and employees' OCBs.Research limitations/implicationsPsychological ownership presents a complement to social exchange to explain effects of relational psychological contract fulfillment on employee outcomes. Because of the cross-sectional nature of the data conclusions about causality are quite limited.Practical implicationsOrganizations and managers should emphasize that fulfillment of relational psychological contract obligations represent a significant investment in employees, who reciprocate by investing themselves into their work. This in turn bolsters JPO and its positive employee outcomes.Originality/valueThis is the first study to directly compare social exchange and psychological ownership explanations for effects of psychological contract fulfillment on employees.

The Relations between Investment in Employees' Development and Organizational Productivity and Service Quality

The Relations between Investment in Employees' Development and Organizational Productivity and Service Quality

The Influence of Financial Literacy and Financial Behavior to Employee Investment Decision on PT. Angkasa Pura 1 (Persero) Juanda Surabaya

The Influence of Financial Literacy and Financial Behavior to Employee Investment Decision on PT. Angkasa Pura 1 (Persero) Juanda Surabaya

Technology, tasks and training – evidence on the provision of employer-provided training in times of technological change in Germany

ABSTRACT In the context of technological change and the ongoing transformation of the labour market, this paper investigates firms’ employer-provided continuing training provision for employees with different skill requirements. Following human capital theory, firms invest in training when expecting higher returns than costs. From a theoretical point of view, only investment in employees in high-skilled jobs is reasonable. Empirically, this is not always the case. Using firm-level data from the BIBB Establishment Panel on Training and Competence Development, a fractional logit model is applied to answer which role technology use and task profiles play in employees’ training participation. The results suggest that firms with a higher proportion of digital technology users provide more training. On the contrary, more working time spent with digital technologies is associated with less training. A potential explanation could be that after initial training in using digital technologies, there are substantial learning effects and employees become more experienced. Additionally, employees who more frequently perform complex tasks receive more training independent of their jobs’ general skill requirements.

The Role of Financial Literacy, Gender, Education, and Ethnicity towards Investment Decisions

The awareness and desire to allocate funds to meet future needs have caused many employees to start investing. The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of the level of financial literacy and demographic factors on employee investment decisions. This study uses multiple linear regression analysis models to analyze data. The population in this study is employees with the criteria of having an investment instrument, either real or financial asset investments. The results of this study indicate that only the level of financial literacy partially influences investment decisions while gender, education, and ethnicity do not affect employee investment decisions.
 Keywords: Financial Literacy; Gender; Education; Ethnicity; Investment Decisions

Path Analysis between Organizational Size and Forms of Organizational Commitment

This study attempted to predict the relationship between organizational size and the three established forms of organizational commitment: affective, normative and continuance. We found no statistical evidence or compelling logic to ascertain that organizational size, in itself, will be a meaningful direct predictor of each of the three forms of organizational commitment, and any statistical significance of such relationship would be spurious and meaningless. However, we tested for indirect relationships between size and the commitment variants through five selected mediating variables. We tested the null for three model and 18 path hypotheses using the structural equation model. Our findings showed a fit between our data and model for predicting both affective and normative but not continuance commitment. All 18 path hypotheses were statistically significant as each mediating variable and the commitment variables were predicted by their antecedents. The study showed that perceived firm internal labor market (FILM) upward mobility propensity, voluntary employee organizational involvement, and employee investments in their organizations significantly predicted organizational commitment, especially the affective and normative types.

Evaluating the employability paradox: When does organizational investment in human capital pay off?

The paper explores the notion of the employability paradox which notes that while organizations investing in the career and competency development of their workforce can benefit from higher performance, they also risk losing more employable staff to competitors. Building on contributions from social exchange theory and signalling theory, we develop a model exploring the circumstances under which investment in career development benefits employees and organizations. We test our model in a longitudinal study following graduates entering the labour market. Our results show that when organizations signal that they care about employees by investing in their career development and individuals are receptive to such signals and proactively seek to manage their careers, investment in career development has a positive impact on organizational commitment and intention to stay with one’s employer. Our findings indicate that the idea of the employability paradox is simplistic and lacks theoretical and empirical support.

66 Future-proofing the feedyard workforce: Survey of Texas beef cattle stockpeople indicates positive attitudes towards animals and the workplace while highlighting opportunities for improvement

Abstract A survey was administered to Texas cattle feedyard employees (n = 111) from 31 different operations measuring stockperson perception, job satisfaction, and socioeconomic status using Likert statements and multiple-choice questions. Differences among employment roles (manager, pen rider, processor, doctor) were evaluated using a Kruskal-Wallis test followed by a Multiple Comparison procedure. Managers more strongly agreed that “beef cattle are not dirty” than doctors (P = 0.03) and that “cattle behavior is affected by the way we treat them” than pen riders (P = 0.002) or processors (P = 0.01). Managers were less likely than doctors, pen riders and processors to believe they have too many cattle to look after (P = 0.05, P = 0.006 and P = 0.01, respectively). Pen riders reported less confidence in performing euthanasia than doctors (P = 0.02) and managers (P = 0.02), and, along with processors, agreed that cattle were not always euthanized in a timely manner (P = 0.02 and P = 0.02, respectively). While all roles viewed Holstein cattle unfavorably (P < 0.001), processors viewed them more positively than pen riders (P = 0.05) and managers (P = 0.001). Socioeconomic results showed that Texas feedyards have a dedicated, passionate workforce, with 43% of participants having worked in the industry for 9+ years and 49% of participants working at cattle feedyards because they enjoy working with animals. Unfortunately, it was evident that stockpeople are underpaid (57% of participants making between $10–15/hr) and overworked (76% of participants working 50+ hrs/wk). Survey responses identified critical role-dependent knowledge gaps and biases. A disconnect was observed among compensation, workload, and the duration of time stockpeople spend interacting with cattle. Increasing industry investment in feedyard employees and providing breed-specific and employee role-specific education may promote an encouraging workplace that ensures cattle experience good welfare.

15 Future-proofing the feedyard workforce: Survey of Texas beef cattle stockpeople indicates positive attitudes towards animals and the workplace while highlighting opportunities for improvement

Abstract A survey was administered to Texas cattle feedyard employees (n = 111) from 31 different operations measuring stockperson perception, job satisfaction and socioeconomic status using Likert statements and multiple-choice questions. Differences among employment roles (manager, pen rider, processor, doctor) were evaluated using a Kruskal-Wallis test followed by a Multiple Comparison procedure. Managers more strongly agreed that “beef cattle are not dirty” than doctors (P = 0.03) and that “cattle behavior is affected by the way we treat them” than pen riders (P = 0.002) or processors (P = 0.01). Managers were less likely than doctors, pen riders, and processors to believe they have too many cattle to look after (P = 0.05, P = 0.006 and P = 0.01, respectively). Pen riders reported less confidence in performing euthanasia than doctors (P = 0.02) and managers (P = 0.02), and, along with processors, agreed that cattle were not always euthanized in a timely manner (P = 0.02 and P = 0.02, respectively). While all roles viewed Holstein cattle unfavorably (P < 0.001), processors viewed them more positively than pen riders (P = 0.05) and managers (P = 0.001). Socioeconomic results showed that Texas feedyards have a dedicated, passionate work force, with 43% of participants having worked in the industry for 9+ years and 49% of participants working at cattle feedyards because they enjoy working with animals. Unfortunately, it was evident that stockpeople are underpaid (57% of participants making between $10–15/hr) and overworked (76% of participants working 50+ hrs/wk). Survey responses identified critical role-dependent knowledge gaps and biases. A disconnect was observed among compensation, workload, and the duration of time stockpeople spend interacting with cattle. Increasing industry investment in feedyard employees and providing breed-specific and employee role-specific education may promote an encouraging workplace that ensures cattle experience good welfare.

The moderated mediation processes in firm-specific human capital development and task performance relationship

PurposeInterest has been generated for a while in unpacking the “black box” and providing a contingency approach to understanding the effects of human resource management (HRM) practices. This study aims to investigate the possibility that the relationship between human capital development and task performance is mediated by work self-efficacy and work engagement – and that this mediation depends on the degree of perceived investment in employees’ development.Design/methodology/approachBased on a synthesis of theories –systems, social cognitive and social identity theories – a moderated mediation model is tested using data from 220 academic employees and Heads of Departments from multiple Higher Educational Institutions in Ghana. AMOS and Hayes Conditional Process analysis were used to analyze the data.FindingsThe study finds support for a bundle of human capital investments boosting work self-efficacy and motivating work engagement, as well as task performance. Consistent with expectations, the mediation in human capital investments to task performance via work self-efficacy is conditional on the degree of perceived investment in employees’ development.Originality/valueThe study provides the first attempt at studying a conditional process model in human capital development by addressing whether, how and when human capital system functions more or less effectively, and provides knowledge on the “black box” in HRM.