2012, Rice, John, Liao, Tung-Shan, Martin, Nigel, Galvin, Peter

Strategic alliance research emerged to explain alliance formation based upon transaction cost minimisation and opportunism reduction. Later research, and early research from Japan, emphasised the role of alliances in facilitating the transfer of knowledge between organisations. Most recently, alliance research has focussed on the development of shared, potentially idiosyncratic, resource stocks. This paper builds on this recent research, testing the proposition that alliances are important vehicles allowing firms to access or acquire external resources, hence shoring up capability gaps and building new capabilities as required during firm, product and industry life cycles. Using a sample from Australian manufacturing small-and-medium-sized enterprises, the paper reveals that alliances employed by firms can be viewed as initiatives to either fill a gap in the firm's resource stock or to exploit a perceived opportunity in its operational and strategic environment.

2013, Martin, Nigel, Rice, John

Solar Photovoltaic (PV) electricity systems are part of Australia's energy supply matrix. In the case of New South Wales (NSW), the state government has had to deal with a complex policy problem. In order to play its role in the federal Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme, the NSW government initiated the 7 year Solar Bonus Scheme in 2010. However, in attempting to maximise community investment in small-scale solar PV systems, it relied on faulty financial modelling that applied a generous Feed-in Tariff (FiT) and underestimated the level of investor participation and installed capacity. Consequently, the scheme has resulted in very high public costs that will require policy changes that bring investors and energy retailers into conflict, and unpopular electricity retail price adjustments. This paper uses a structured case and stakeholder analysis to critically analyse the FiT policy, while also highlighting important lessons for policymakers engaging in FiT design.

, Fieger, Peter, Rice, John

The COVID-19 pandemic has exerted many effects on populations worldwide. Due to the nature of the pandemic, health and specifically nursing sectors have been particularly impacted. While the nursing sector had to grapple with the impact of the pandemic as well as associated government interventions, nursing students have experienced changes in their job prospects, satisfaction with their training and their propensity to engage in further studies, all impinging on the sustainability of nursing education. This study aims to analyze educational outcomes for nursing graduates undertaking VET (vocational education and training) programs in Australia. Impacts assessed include employment, satisfaction, and further study after completion. The paper is based on analysis of five large waves of a comprehensive survey of Australian vocational education completers, from 2019 to 2022 inclusive. We develop three separate logistic regression models for the outcomes of employment, satisfaction, and enrollment in further study in order to estimate the predictive margins for the interactions between year and field of education, including the Diploma of Nursing, all other health qualifications, and all other qualifications. Our results show that these graduates saw significantly improved employment outcomes and heightened satisfaction during and after the pandemic, pointing to the sector meeting sustainability challenges. Interestingly, enrolment in further studies, after a notable increase earlier in the pandemic, returned to pre-pandemic levels as the crises abated.

2021, Dyason, David, Fieger, Peter, Rice, John

Labour markets respond to supply and demand changes caused by external shocks, including pandemics. In 2020 and 2021, the Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused a sudden reduction in labour demand in certain industries globally. As economies emerge into the post COVID-19 reality, a return of patterns caused by ongoing structural pressures return. In Canterbury, a region centred on Christchurch in New Zealand, these include migration demand pressures. This paper uses data from the Canterbury region, which is no stranger to disasters, as a case study. Two models are developed to estimate the future workforce requirements during the recovery period. A population growth model is utilised to test the regional labour market's limits, while an economic model estimates the required jobs for the regional economy. The paper finds that the lower economic activity resulting from COVID-19 has reduced the near-term employment demand. At the same time, labour force transition coupled with strict border controls reveals the need for labour force participation to adjust during the extended recovery period. Although short-term demand for skilled migration remains lower, those leaving the workforce will require replacing.

2024-04, AlKetbi, Aisha, Rice, John

This literature review aims to examine the relationship between Green Human Resource Management (G-HRM) practices and various outcomes, including employee green attitudes, employee green satisfaction, client green satisfaction, employee green behavior, and organizational green performance. We reviewed existing literature on G-HRM practices and their impact on the selected outcomes. The review process involved the identification of articles through a systematic search in Scopus and Web of Science databases from January 2013 to December 2023. The search retrieved 2142 citations; of them, a total of 17 articles were deemed eligible for this review. The reviewed literature provides good evidence supporting a positive predictive relationship between G-HRM practices and employee green attitudes, employee green satisfaction, client green satisfaction, employee green behavior, and organizational green performance. However, there is a notable gap in studies exploring the influence of G-HRM practices on employee and client satisfaction. Overall, G-HRM practices emerge as a crucial tool for fostering environmentally conscious attitudes and behaviors among employees, ultimately contributing to enhanced employee satisfaction and improved organizational ecological performance. Future research should pay attention to the mechanisms underlying these relationships and explore potential moderating factors to enrich our understanding of the interrelated dynamics between G-HRM practices and sustainable outcomes.

2015, Liao, Tung-Shan, Rice, John, Lu, Juin-Cherng

The goal of this study is to illustrate the variance pattern of competitive advantage. On the basis of an a priori model drawing on the Schumpeterian factors mediating the effects of innovation investment on firm performance, this paper conducts a Multiple Indicator Multiple Cause analysis on the intertemporal competitive advantage. The results suggest that the composition of sustainable competitive advantage is a series of short-term advantages. Either sustaining or creating competitive advantage requires concomitant interaction between innovation and effective market engagement. This paper highlights innovative efficiency of such interaction as an influence on a firm's evolution of market fitness in the marketplace.

2024-11, Alzarooni, Abdelrahim I, Alhashmi, Saadat M, Lataifeh, Mohammed, Rice, John

Digital transformation is a process in which the latest technologies are used in various business fields to keep pace with continuous changes. It involves the strategic and profound integration of digital technologies into an organization’s core business operations, processes, and models. In this study, a quantitative approach was used to study the impact of DT adoption on public sector transformational change projects in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The diffusion of innovation theory (DIT) and the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology model (UTAUT) were used in the factor analysis. This study highlights that digital transformation initiatives in the UAE have benefited from a strategic alignment with government initiatives, such as AI and blockchain strategies. However, public sector organizations face challenges, such as the high costs of technology adoption and cybersecurity risks during integration with legacy systems. The significance of social influence, including elements like use behavior and behavioral intention, was identified as essential for digital transformation, suggesting the importance of technology in job performance. Similarly, digital transformation projects improve IT competence and reduce resistance to change among leaders and individuals. The findings underscore the importance of investing in infrastructure and continuous IT training to sustain digital transformation. More studies are required across specific sectors to further explore the impact and scalability of DT initiatives in the UAE public sector.

2016, Brandis, Susan, Fisher, Ron, McPhail, Ruth, Rice, John, Eljiz, Kathy, Fitzgerald, Anneke, Gapp, Rod, Marshall, Andrea

Objective. This study examines the relationships between job satisfaction and organisational justice during a time of transformational change. Methods. Data collection occurred immediately before a major regional hospital's move to a greenfield site. Existing measures of job satisfaction and organisational justice were used. Data were analysed (n = 316) using descriptive, correlation and regression methods together with interactions between predictor variables. Results. Correlation coefficients for satisfaction and organisational justice variables were high and significant at the P < 0.001 level. Results of a robust regression model (adjusted R2 = 0.568) showed all three components of organisational justice contributed significantly to employee job satisfaction. Interactions between the predictor variables showed that job satisfaction increased as the interactions between the predictor variables increased. Conclusions. The finding that even at a time of transformational change staff perceptions of fair treatment will in the main result in high job satisfaction extends the literature in this area. In addition, it was found that increasing rewards for staff who perceive low levels of organisational justice does not increase satisfaction as much as for staff who perceive high levels of fairness. If people feel negative about their role, but feel they are well paid, they probably still have negative feelings overall.

2017, Yarram, Subba Reddy, Rice, John

How firms determine the pay of their executive employees is a vital research area. In the Australian context, mining firms form a large portion of listed companies. These miners tend to have more volatile earnings, operate with less certainty and higher risk in relation to capital investment. We look at a sample of ASX listed miners and non-miners from 2005 to 2013. We note that miners pay their CEOs less (AUD 1 m vs AUD 1.5 m for non-miners) overall. However, we also note that miners tend to use enhanced contingent long-term remuneration arrangements to significantly boost the pay-performance relationship compared to non-miners particularly during the pre-GFC period. Curiously, non-miners tend to have more generous short-term contingent arrangements linking executive pay and performance. The GFC, as an event, has adversely impacted these arrangements, lessening the generosity of pay-performance among miners, while enhancing these arrangements among non-miners. Overall, the results of the study provide support for optimal contracting theory and do not generally support the managerial power approach for both mining and non-mining firms.

2021, Mazzarol, Tim, Soutar, Geoffrey N, McKeown, Tui, Reboud, Sophie, Adapa, Sujana, Rice, John, Clark, Delwyn

This paper examines the perspectives of employers and employees within nano, micro, small, medium, and large firms in relation to HRM practices. The study draws upon a large sample of respondents from firms of all size categories. An online questionnaire comprising established HRM measures was used to collect the data. A multivariate discriminant analysis procedure was used to identify the interrelationships between the employer and employee groups, across firms by size, and how they viewed the importance of the HRM measures. The study found a strong congruence between employers and employees across most constructs and provides insights into the role firm size plays in the formalization of HRM practices and the relative importance of such factors within SMEs.