Research Seminar at the Dublin City Universtiy (LInK Centre)
Today I am talking at the DCU LInK and meeting my Irish colleagues. The topic of my talk will be:
How can we use social network perspectives in HRM research: An example and a look ahead.
Razvojna vizija Slovenije je na dlani! Jasno: Zeleno
V zadnjem času se zdi, da vsi iščejo novo razvojno pot Slovenije. Tu je moj prispevek…
Mislim, da je ta na dlani…vsi jo čutimo, a je ne znamo ubesediti. Kljub trenutnim težavam, ki jih ima Slovenija, je kakovost življenja v naši državi še vedno na zelo zavidljivi ravni. Povprečnemu Slovencu je kjer koli v Sloveniji v radiju manj kot 100 km, velikokrat pa par minut od doma, na voljo toliko raznovrstnosti in neokrnjenih naravnih lepot kot redko kateremu drugemu prebivalcu na naši krogli. Včasih pomaga kakšna ocena od zunaj – kot recimo tale ocena uglednega National Geographic Travelerja, da nas spomni na to, kaj imamo.
Slovenija ima odlične predispozicije, da postane vodilna svetovna sila na področju zelenega. Ne samo v osrčju Slovenije kot turistične blagovne znamke, ampak nasploh. Od eko-pridelave hrane, preko ekološkega turizma, do razvoja zelenih tehnlogij, zelenih proizvodov in predvsem celovitih storitev s tega področja. Glede na geografsko majhnost Slovenije, njene naravne danosti in pregovorno ljubezen Slovencev do svojega bivanjskega okolja bi lahko v desetletju ali dveh postali država z največjim deležem zelenih dejavnosti v BDP. Pri ponujanju “zelenega” izven Slovenije, pa bi bili gotovo precej bolj kredibilni kot kakšna Kitajska. Seveda pot do tja ni lahka in je polna izzivom, a menim, da je dovolj zanimiva, da bi zanjo uspeli anagžirati kritično maso naših sodržavljanov. Je tudi dovolj politično nevtralna, da bi lahko združila nesrečno polariziran slovenski politični prostor.
Vizija torej: Slovenija bo do leta 2025 med vodilni svetovnimi ponudnicami zelenih tehnologij, proizvodov in storitev.
Forthcoming in the European Journal of International Management
European Journal of International Management is a new, very ambitious journal with a great track record already in its first couple of years on the scene. Here is the abstract of our forthcoming paper Human capital and structural position in knowledge networks as determinants when classifying employee groups for strategic HRM purposes in EJIM:
Until recently most theoretical models and empirical investigations in the strategic HRM field focused on inter-firm rather than intra-firm variability and thus implicitly assumed the adoption of the same HR practices (bundles) for managing all employee groups in a firm. Existing classifications of employees for strategic HRM purposes are mostly based on human capital and the employment mode. Through the lens of the knowledge-based view of the firm, we examine the ways in which an individual employee is valuable to a firm and suggest that an individual’s structural position in knowledge networks should also be considered. By conducting a social network analysis of an SME we establish that studying an individual’s relationship-based characteristics (i.e., an individual’s structural position in knowledge networks) strengthens the reasoning for employee classification and should thus be considered for strategic HRM purposes.
Izšla je knjiga Menedžment človeških virov
Za tiste, ki še ne veste. Izšla je knjiga “Menedžment človeških virov”. Knjiga celovito obravnava področje, ki ga v tujini najdemo pod besedno zvezo “Human Resource Management”. Urednika revije sta Ivan Svetlik in Nada Zupan, pri pisanju pa smo sodelo
ali tudi: Miroslav Stanojević, Stane Možina, Andrej Kohont in Robert Kaše. Več informacij o knjigi dobite tukaj.
The UK tour and the Academy Annual Meeting in Chicago
Filed under: events, trips | Tags: AOM, EURAM, knowledge networks, pdw
Leave a Comment I really liked late spring and summer this year. It was a very productive time for me and colleagues that share interest in similar research themes. I think we really got the ball rolling as far as research on social networks and HRM is concerned.
In May I was on “the UK tour”. It started by co-organizing a special track “Knowledge renewal in knowledge networks” at the EURAM 2009 conference in Liverpool (with Miha Škerlavaj, Juani Swart and John Powell) and continued with research seminars at the University of Bath and the Cardiff University. Special thanks here go to Juani Swart and John Powell, who were excellent hosts and provided the opportunity to share my work and ideas with people of these two highly respected institutions. Apart from talks about social networks, HRM, and professional service firms we also discussed differences in faculty management systems, challenges of teaching executives and the good old “publish or perish” issue.
The beginning of August was all about the Annual Academy of Management meeting in Chicago. I really enjoyed it because I could combine my social network and HRM interests in one conference, which is not very often. I met a lot of very nice and interesting people and learned a lot. Apart from that Zella King and I organized a PDW on “Social network perspectives in HRM research”; the attendance level indicated that the interest for this perspectives is rising among HRM researches. My job at the PDW was to do the introduction (you will find an overview of my talk under Resources). The feedback on the PDW was great – we now plan a mini-conference for March and a special issue about HRM and social networks in the near future.
A forthcoming publication in the Organization Science
Filed under: publications | Tags: flexibility, real options, training, valuation
Leave a Comment Here is something I really look forward to. After a very long time of intense intellectual challenge the paper by my colleague Aleš Berk and I is finally in press at the Organization Science. It is an interdisciplinary paper that applies real options methodology to valuing flexibility created by training. Here is the abstract:
This paper refers to the conceptualizations of strategic flexibility, real options, and human resource (HR) options to
build a model for valuing future-oriented and organizational flexibility-enhancing aspects of training. By adopting an
indirect approach to measuring HR options by valuing particular investment projects in which human capital is involved,
we satisfy the conditions for applying the Black-Scholes option valuation model and avoid the problematic measurement
of the stand-alone value of human capital. The proposed valuation model is elucidated by a case study from the mobile
telecommunications industry. The results indicate that in rapidly growing markets based on emerging technology, the
generation of HR options based on training should be encouraged. Broader applicability and limitations of the valuation
model are discussed and directions for further development of the valuation model are given.
I will let you know when it comes out.
Just published in the Human Resource Management (Wiley)…
Filed under: publications | Tags: HRM, social network perspective, interpersonal relations, knowledge transfer
Leave a Comment Together with Jaap Paauwe and Nada Zupan we just published a paper at the Human Resource Management. It is a part of what all the contributors believe a potentially very influential special issue on HRM and Knowledge Processes edited by Dana Minbaeva, Nicolai Foss and Scott Snell. The title is: HR practices, interpersonal relations, and intrafirm knowledge transfer in knowledge-intensive firms: a social network perspective.
Here is the abstract:
We adopt the social network perspective to develop a conceptual model and examine the relationship among human resource (HR) practices, interpersonal relations, and intrafirm knowledge transfer in knowledge-intensive firms. Our results indicate that work design, along with training and development HR practices, can shape the structural relation. At the same time, both also exhibit potential for shaping affective and cognitive relations within a firm’s social network. While the effects of work design along with training and development HR practices on intrafirm knowledge transfer are primarily mediated by interpersonal relations, we found some evidence for arguing that incentives and motivation HR practices directly affect intrafirm knowledge transfer.
Research Seminar at Copenhagen Business School
Filed under: events, trips | Tags: HRM, methodology, research seminar, social network perspectives
Leave a Comment This Wednesday I was speaking at the Center for Strategic Management and Globalization – Copenhagen Business School, Denmark. See the abstract of the research seminar below:
Practical Issues of Adopting Social Network Perspectives and Methodologies in HRM Research
In the seminar the research project Effects of HR Practices on Knowledge Transfer in Knowledge-Intensive Firms: The Mediating Role of Social Network Dimensions will be used as an example of how social network perspectives and methodology can be used in human resource management research. Decisions that a researcher has to make when adopting social network perspectives and the tools that are available will be presented and discussed. The emphasis will be on developing appropriate research designs, gathering actor-based and relational data, selecting appropriate methods for data analysis, and performing confirmatory social network analyses (MRQAP, p*). The seminar will conclude with a discussion about opportunities and limitations of social network perspectives and methodology for management research in the near future.
I have really enjoyed the hospitality of my hosts and together with my colleagues Dana Minbaeva and Zella King made significant progress on a very promising research paper.
Koristno orodje za zagotavljanje ergonomske ustreznosti delovnega mesta
Tistim, ki se ukvarjate z analizo in oblikovanjem delovnih mest, bi verjetno prav prišlo orodje odločitveni diagram za ključna področja ergonomije, ki ga je pripravil Anže Pogačnik. Orodje je dostopno na spletnih straneh laboratorija za ergonomijo.
Strategic HRM Lecture for Mercator Academy
Filed under: events | Tags: lecture, Mercator, retail, strategic HRM
Leave a Comment Last Friday I gave a lecture on Strategic HRM at the Mercator Academy. Mercator is the largest Slovenian retailer and a very important player in SE Europe employing over 20.000 people. Mercator Academy is a learning and networking facilitator for high potential young employes who are trained to become the future leaders of the company. They were presented various approaches to designing and implementing HRM strategy. I enjoyed vivid interaction with participants and excellent discussion about the HRM strategy in Mercator.
