Research Streams: Publications, Pipeline and Plan for the Future

Transcription

1 Research Streams: Publications, Pipeline and Plan for the Future Lin Xiu, PhD Assistant Professor of Human Resource Management My pursuit of human resource management research inquiry has been within and across the fields of workplace diversity, work-life balance, compensation management, and strategic HR issues in the context of globalization. In particular, I have been working on the following four interrelated lines of research: gender compensation differentials, gender differences in salary negotiations, executive compensation, and strategic HR issues in the context of globalization. I have initiated or co-initiated more than 20 research projects, a majority of which have led to either peer-reviewed publications or manuscripts in progress. Below I will describe my research streams and projects in two parts. Part 1 presents my research streams as demonstrated in the published or presented papers. Part 2 describes my current research pipeline and plan for the future. Part 1. Research Streams as Demonstrated in Published & Presented Papers 1. Summary of My Research in the Area of Gender Compensation Differentials My first research stream focuses on gender compensation differentials in a global context. I developed research interests in this field when I was in the undergraduate program in China. China has a long tradition of Confucianism, which emphasizes the subordinate roles of females in the society, as illustrated by the famous saying lack of talent is a virtue of women (nuzi wucai bianshi de). Such beliefs have diminished during the planned economy ( ) when the Chinese central government implemented a system of national wage scales based on the socialist egalitarian principle whereby wage dispersion due to gender and human capital was suppressed. Women were actively involved in the workforce as evidenced by the fact that the female labor participation in urban areas during this period was more than 90 percent. In more recent years as China moves towards a more market-oriented economy, pay are increasingly used to allocate labor. This topic has become more important not only for China but also for companies and policy makers in a global context, as more and more international businesses are expanding to developing countries such as China under the influence of globalization. Since I joined UMD in 2010, I have published 4 papers that examine the gender pay differentials Research related to Different Forms of Compensation In the first paper, I paid particular attention to gender differences in the different dimensions of performance pay (i.e. payment determined by job performance). This is an important topic because more and more Chinese business entities increasingly recognize the advantages of applying incentive pay programs to various kinds of employees. Well-designed performance programs help organizations to control payroll costs and motivate employee productivity. The main findings of this research have been published on the British Journal of Industrial Relations, a top international journal in the field. 1

2 Xiu, L. & M. Gunderson, (2013). Performance Pay in China: Gender Aspects. British Journal of Industrial Relations: an international journal of employment relation. 51(1): (online available Dec 2011) We provide an in-depth analysis of gender differences in performance pay in China based on a unique dataset the Life Histories and Social Change in Contemporary China that provides information on the different components of pay including performance pay and base pay as well as a wide array of pay determining characteristic. The share of performance pay is documented and its determinants, including gender, analyzed. Particular attention is paid to gender differences in the different dimensions of performance pay: the probability of receiving it; the magnitude conditional upon receiving it; and their product being the overall unconditional magnitude. This study reported that Chinese women have a 6% lower probability of receiving performance pay and a 24.4% lower conditional magnitude of receiving performance pay conditional upon receiving it, with the combination of these two factors yielding a 33.9% lower overall unconditional magnitude of performance pay. This research also reveals the underlying reasons for such gender pay gap in performance pay: women are selected or attracted to ownership types of business, occupations and ranks that tend not to provide performance pay. As an extension of the first paper, the second paper analyzes the different components of pay (e.g., base pay and performance pay) as well as for total pay. As the Chinese economy moves towards a more market-based system where wage differentials will play a more important role in allocating labor and rewarding human capital formation, increased attention has been paid to male female wage differentials in China. The main findings have been published on the Contemporary Economics Policy. Xiu, L. & M. Gunderson, (2013). Gender Earnings Differences in China: Base Pay, Performance Pay and Total Pay. Contemporary Economic Policy. 31(1): (online available Feb 2012) In this study, we find women receive about three-quarters of male pay for each of the dimensions of base pay, performance pay, and total compensation, before adjusting for the effect of different paydetermining factors. Approximately two-thirds of the gap reflect the fact that females tend to be paid less than males for the same wage-determining characteristics, while about one-third reflects the fact that males have endowments that tend to be associated with higher pay, especially supervisory responsibilities, general labor market experience, occupational skills, and education. 1.2 Research Related to Income Levels and Occupations of Employees In a study I initiated in 2011, my coauthor and I examined the male-female pay gap and its determinants throughout the pay distribution, highlighting that the conventional approach that focuses on the mean of the distribution can mask important differences across the full pay distribution and not capture the considerable variation. The findings of this research have been published on the International Journal of Manpower. 2

3 Xiu, L. & M. Gunderson, (2014), Glass Ceiling or Sticky Floor? Quantile Regression Decomposition of the Gender Pay Gap in China, International Journal of Manpower. 35(3), pp In this empirical research, we use the Recentered Influence Function modification of quantile regressions to estimate how the male-female pay gap varies across the pay distribution. We find evidence of a sticky floor (large pay gaps at the bottom of the pay distribution) and some limited and weaker evidence of a glass ceiling (large pay gaps at the top of the distribution). At the bottom of the pay distribution most of the lower pay of females reflects their lower returns to job tenure, experience, and a greater negative effects of family responsibilities on females wages, and to a lesser extent their lower level of education and their concentration in lower-paying occupations. This highlights the importance of acquiring more education, especially given that the returns to education for females are higher than for males at the bottom end of the pay distribution. At the top of the pay distribution most of their lower pay reflects their lower returns on education, job tenure and work experience, and to a lesser extent their lower likelihood in managerial and leadership positions. This suggests that to cross the glass ceiling and reduce the gender pay gap at the high end of the pay distribution, women at the top end of the pay distribution need to get more involved in managerial training and development programs, as well as be more proactive in reaching higher ranks in the organizations. In another study, we analyze the gender earnings gap in China with a focus on the role of differences in the occupational distribution of males and females. The findings of this research have been published on the International Journal of Manpower. Xiu, L. & M. Gunderson (2015), Occupational Segregation and The Gender Earnings Gap in China: Devils in the Details, International Journal of Manpower. 36(5), pp In this empirical research study, we use a procedure to model occupational attainments and decompose differences in earnings into an inter-occupational portion due to differences in the occupational distribution between males and females, and an intra-occupational portion due to differences in pay. We find that the male-female pay gap is virtually completely explained by wage discrimination defined as females being paid less than males within the occupation groups based on six broad occupations. Occupational segregation explains virtually none of the overall male-female pay gap, and in fact the segregation slightly favors women. However, the picture changes substantially when the analysis is conducted at the more disaggregate sub-occupation level within each of the six broad groups. Wage discrimination remains the prominent contributor to the pay gap across the disaggregated sub-occupations in each of the broad occupations. When females have the same occupation-determining characteristics as men, they are in lower paying sub-occupations within the professional group and to a lesser extent within manufacturing and operations jobs. Our study indicates that policy initiatives that operate on the pay side of the equation can be important because wage discrimination remains the prominent contributor to the pay gap even across the disaggregated sub-occupations in each of the broad occupations. Policy initiatives in this regard can range from policies that remove the barriers that inhibit women from advancing their career in certain jobs like those within the professions, to more interventionist affirmative action or employment equity 3

4 initiatives that require employers to have a representation of females within the organization that is representative of their availability in the external labor market. Barrier removal policies could include those that facilitate the ability of women to cope with both family and work commitments such as work-life balance programs, as well as changing education policies that tend to stream women into jobs at the lower rungs of the occupational distribution. 2. Summary of My Research in the Area of Gender and Salary Negotiation From my exploration in the area of gender pay differentials, I understand that there are more factors than discrimination and performance levels that lead to different treatments males and females receive at the workplace. For example, if there is a gender pay difference at the starting salary, that gap will likely continue through merit pay, incentive pay and other compensation schemes. Under this domain, I pay particular attention to gender differences in salary negotiation. In a project that I co-initiated with my coauthor, we examined the impact of gender, personality and risk attitude on salary negotiation during a job interview. Two papers have been developed from this project. The first paper examines how personality traits influence interviewees negotiation decisions as well as whether and to what extent such effects are moderated by one s gender and risk attitudes. We find significant direct influence of extraversion and risk attitude on a job applicant s initiation of salary negotiations. Our findings also show that risk attitudes moderate the effect of personality traits (i.e. agreeableness and extraversion) on individuals negotiation decisions. This study thus indicates that the effects of personality traits on job applicants initiation of salary negotiations are contingent on their risk attitudes. This study contributes to the gender, personality and salary negotiations literature, and answers a question that is of both theoretical and practical importance who negotiates a higher starting salary. To our knowledge, this is the first study that has reported that the effects of personality traits on negotiation decisions are contingent on one s risk attitudes. Furthermore, this study has important practical implications. Providing negotiation training opportunities to those who may not dare to ask for a higher salary due to their personality traits and risk attitudes would help employees become more confident and comfortable in the workplace. In a long run, such practices would help build an organization that values and respects diversity. The main findings of this research have been published on Naikai Business Review International. Xiu, L., Kang, G. & Roline, A. (2015), Who Negotiates A Higher Starting Salary? A Moderation Model on the Role of Gender, Personality and Risk Attitude, Naikai Business Review International. 6(3), pp In another study, my coauthors and I further examined whether women encounter more social resistance than men do when they attempt to negotiate for higher compensation, and whether the gender and personality of the interviewer moderates that resistance. We found that both male and female interviewers penalize female interviewees who initiate negotiations in a job interview. More agreeable interviewers are nicer than less agreeable ones to interviewees who ask for more pay, even after controlling for the interviewers gender. More extraverted interviewers are tougher than 4

5 less extraverted interviewers toward interviewees who initiate salary negotiation. These phenomena are more pronounced when interviewees are male as opposed to female. This study indicates that business needs to address discrimination and diversity issues earlier in the employment relationship. It may be wise for management to consider the potential bias of an interviewer s gender and personality on their hiring decisions before the organization makes a final decision on which interviewee should be hired and how much salary should be offered. The main findings of this research have been published on Evidence-Based HRM. Kang, G., Xiu, L. & Roline, A. (2015), How Do Interviewers Respond to Applicants Initiation of Salary Negotiation? An Exploratory Study on the Role of Gender & Personality, Evidence-Based HRM. 3(2), pp Summary of My Research in the Area of Executive Compensation My third research stream focuses on CEO compensation, and in particular, the gender gap in executive compensation and the driving forces behind the executive compensation mechanisms. In a solo-authored paper, I explored the intersection of CEO compensation and gender pay gap in China by inquiring how top-level women executives are paid after they cross the glass ceiling and enter the managerial ranks. The findings of this research have been published on the Evidence-Based HRM. Xiu, L. (2013). The Gender Gap in Top Corporate Jobs in China: Evidence from an Establishment-Manager Matched Survey. Evidence-Based HRM. 1(1). (online available Dec 2012) Using data from an establishment-manager matched survey, I examined the gender pay gap in the organizational leadership positions in China. The results show that female managers receive much lower pay than male managers in China. A large portion of the gender earnings gap can be attributed to firm-level characteristics than individual characteristics. Female managers tend to have fewer firmlevel characteristics that are associated with higher pay, and when they do, they tend to receive a smaller pay premium for those characteristics. This is especially the case for the firm size variable where female managers are less likely to be employed in higher paying large firms, and when they are, they receive a smaller firm-size premium. This study offers insights on how women executives are paid after they cross the glass ceiling and enter the managerial ranks in China. In another project on executive compensation, my coauthor and I seek to understand the impact of state ownership, managerial power, and market forces on the relationship between corporate performance and executive compensation in China. With the support of Grant-in-Aid ( ), we have constructed a dataset based on corporate annual reports of Chinese listed firms in This project aims to show that (1) executive pay-performance linkage is stronger in non-state controlled firms compared to the state controlled firms; (2) pay-performance relationship is moderated by managerial power such that the relationship becomes less positive under high 5

6 managerial power; (3) whether CEOs are recruited from outside of the firm has an effect on both the level of CEO compensation and the strength of the pay-performance linkage. To our knowledge, this is the first study that integrates three fundamental theories on executive compensation--agency theory, managerial power theory, and labor market theory---in examining pay for performance relationship for executives. The project also contributes to the literature on the relationship between the institutional factors and corporate governance mechanisms. Our effort on this project has produced two conference presentations. Xiu, L. and Fang, T. (May 2015) The CEO Pay-for-Performance Relationship in China: The Impact of State Ownership, Managerial Power and Market Forces, 67th Annual Meeting of Labor and Employment Relations Association, Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, United States. Xiu, L. and T. Fang (June, 2011), Pay-for-Performance in Executive Compensation in China: The Impact of State Ownership and Managerial Power, CES 2011 Annual Conference, Beijing, China. 4. Summary of My Research in the Area of Strategic HR Issues in a Global Context Given my cultural background, and the rapid economic growth that has occurred in the past three decades in China that has made the country an increasingly influential global player, I am interested in examining the important HR issues, and more generally, employment relationship issues in China in the context of globalization. 4.1 Research Related to Strategic HRM Practices and Firm Success/Performance My first stream of research in the area of strategic HR issues in China focuses on studying the effect of both internal and external institutional factors on long-term legitimacy for private enterprises. In this theoretical paper, my coauthors and I propose that Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) practices help to develop long-term organizational legitimacy in private firms in China. Through SHRM practices such as the use of selective staffing, employee participation, crossfunctional teams, high levels of training, flexible work arrangement, competitive compensation systems, as well as other socially responsible HR practices, organizations can effectively link employees individual goals to the organization s business objectives. The main findings of the paper have been presented at the Journal of Management Studies Workshop in Liang, X., L. Xiu, S. Wu and S. Zhang (June 2015) How May a Third Child Solidify its Status in a Family: In Search of Sustainable Legitimacy of Private Firms in China, Journal of Management Studies Workshop, Beijing, China 4.2 Research Related to Credential Effects 6

7 In another project that I initiated in 2012, my coauthor and I examined whether and to what extent the credential effects vary across state and non-state sectors, as well as the influence of organizational tenure on these effects. This study distinguished from the existing studies on human capital productivity effects of an additional year of education. The feature of it is that we constructed the signaling credential reward from completing key phases of education using Chinese labor market as an example. The main findings of this study have been published on Labour: Review of Labour Economics and Industrial Relations. Xiu, L. & M. Gunderson, (2013), Credential Effects and Returns to Education in China, Labour: Review of Labour Economics and Industrial Relations. 27 (2), pp This empirical study advanced the field by addressing the fundamental question that had been puzzling researchers for many years whether education serves a human capital role in enhancing productivity, or serves more of a signaling/screening role as evidenced by credential effects associated with how the market values a credential, over-and-above how it values the human capital associated with an additional year of education. Our study shows a decline in the importance of credentials as firms have more discretion to select the best-suited employees irrespective of their credentials, a less emphasis on credentials for long-tenured employees for whom the employer has more opportunity to assess productivity without relying on credentials, and a greater importance of credentials for females for whom the value of such signals may be more important. 4.3 Research Related to Gender Differences in Stress Communication In a project that I co-initiated with my coauthor on gender differences in stress communication, we collected data in US and China with the support by Multicultural Research Award ( ). This project has produced three presentations at national and international conferences, as well as a manuscript currently under 3 rd round review at Communication Quarterly. H. Feng and L. Xiu (May 2015) The Effects of Sex and Gender Role Orientation on Approach-based Coping Strategies across Cultures: A Moderated Mediation Model, 2015 International Communication Association Conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Xiu, L. and H. Feng (October 2014) Coping with Stress: An Exploratory Study on the Effects of Gender Role Orientation and National Culture, 57th Annual Meeting of the Midwest Academy of Management, Minneapolis, MN. Xiu, L. and H. Feng (November 2013) The Effects of Gender Role Orientation and National Culture on Coping Strategies, 99 th Annual Conference of National Communication Association. H. Feng and L. Xiu, The Effects of Sex and Gender Role Orientation on Approach-Based Coping Strategies Across Cultures: A Moderated Mediation Model, under 3rd round review at Communication Quarterly. In this project, we explore the influences of gender role orientation and national culture on the use of specific coping strategies including instrumental coping, emotional coping, denial and 7

8 disengagement, religion, humor, and self-blame. A total of 578 respondents from China and the U.S. participated in this study. Using multiple data analysis techniques, we found that gender role orientation significantly associates with some coping strategies across cultures and gender role orientation also has different effects on some of the coping strategies with each culture. We also found there are both differences and similarities between Americans and Chinese for the use of the stress coping strategies. Our findings indicate that social structures and local ecologies have significant impacts on individuals understanding and perception on what are gender-appropriate traits/behaviors for men or women. Our research findings echo previous studies demonstrating that gender difference in their personality traits and behaviors show greater conformity to the social expectations on what is more gender-appropriate in less-developed and collectivist societies, and where individualistic ideologies are restrained. This study has important implications for international human resource management, especially in the design and implementation of employer-sponsored stress coping programs in organizations that hire employees and operate business globally. Part II. Research Pipeline and Plan for the Future In this section, I will summarize the research projects that I am currently working on as well as my research plan for the future. 1. Ongoing Research Projects My current research projects fit in the framework of my research streams discussed in Part 1. Below I will briefly discuss each of the research projects I am currently working on with respect to target contributions, target journals, current stage as well as type of the research methodologies. I will present these studies in two categories: (1) working papers that are either under review or close to submission; (2) research projects that are in work progress. 1.1 Papers That Are Either under Review or Close to Submission with Expectation to Be Published within 3 Years 1) H. Feng and L. Xiu, The Effects of Sex and Gender Role Orientation on Approach- Based Coping Strategies Across Cultures: A Moderated Mediation Model Contribution: examining the effect of gender role orientation on the influence of sex on approach-based coping strategies across culture Stage: under 3rd round review at Communication Quarterly. 2) Xiu, L., X. Liang, Z. Chen, and W. Xu, Strategic Flexibility, HPWS, and Firm Performance-A Moderated Mediation Model Contribution: examining whether the strategy contingency perspective of HWPS-firm performance relationship can be methodologically postulated as a mediating relationship Stage: under review at Human Resource Management. 8

9 3) Liang, X., L. Xiu, S. Wu and S. Zhang, How May a Third Child Solidify its Status in a Family: In Search of Sustainable Legitimacy of Private Firms in China Contribution: exploring approaches that private firms can establish sustainable legitimacy in transitional economies such as China. Stage: Submitted and rejected at Management & Organization Review. We are revising the manuscript for resubmission Target Journal/Date of Submission: Journal of Management Studies, Fall 2015 Type: theoretical 4) Xiu, L. and T. Fang, The CEO Pay-for-Performance Relationship in China: The Impact of State Ownership, Managerial Power and Market Forces Contribution: Examining the impact of state ownership, managerial power, and market forces on the relationship between corporate performance and executive compensation Stage: Submitted and rejected at Corporate Governance. We are revising the manuscript for resubmission. Target Journal/Date of Submission: British Journal of Industrial Relations, Spring ) Goel, S., S. Hanson, R. Jones, and L. Xiu, HR Flexibility and HR Outcomes in Family Business: A Conceptual Model (authors by alphabetical order) Contribution: proposing a conceptual model of antecedents to HR flexibility and subsequent HR outcomes in family businesses. Stage: Writing for submission. Target Journal/Date of Submission: Human Resource Management Review, Spring 2016 Type: theoretical 6) Liang, X., S. Wu, and L. Xiu, How did a Local Guerrilla Turn into a Global Gorilla? Learning from Huawei's Sustained Success Contribution: introducing a theoretical model of how dynamic capabilities are created in firms. Stage: Submitted and rejected at Management & Organization Review. We are revising the manuscript for resubmission Target Journal/Date of Submission: California Management Review, Spring 2016 Type: theoretical 1.2 Research Projects That Are in Work Progress with Expectation to Be Published in 3-6 years 1) Changes in Gender Pay Gap across the Pay Distribution : Convergence or Divergence? with Morley Gunderson Contribution: examining how the gender pay gap evolves across pay distribution Stage: data analysis/writing Target Journal/Date Submission: International Journal of Manpower, Fall

10 2) Antecedents and Organizational Effectiveness Outcomes of Wellness Programs with Kim Dauner Contribution: exploring what determines participation in worksite wellness programs and examining outcomes associated with participation in these programs Stage: model development/writing. Data collection completed. Target Journal/Date Submission: (1) Human Resource Management, Fall 2016 (2) The Qualitative Report, Spring ) Gender Differences in the Initiation of Salary Negotiation: Evidence from Behavior Experiments with Yufei Ren Contribution: examining the effects of perceived social norms and competition on gender difference in the initiation of salary negotiations. Stage: data collection/literature review. IRB approved. Target Journal/Date Submission: Management Science, Spring ) The Effects of Gender Role Orientation and National Culture on Avoidance-Based Coping Strategies with Hairong Feng Contribution: examining the effect of gender role orientation on the influence of sex on avoidance-based coping strategies across culture Stage: data analysis/writing. Data collection completed. Target Journal/Date Submission: International Journal of Intercultural Relations, Spring ) Workplace Gender Effects on Pay System Formulization Canadian Evidence from Employee-Firm Matched Data Contribution: examining the effects of gender on compensation systems using data based on the Canadian Workplace and Employment Survey Stage: literature review/model development Target Journal/Date Submission: undecided Type: Empirical 6) The Contingent Effects of Performance Pay on Job Satisfaction Contribution: examining the effects of organizations pay-for-performance practices on employees job satisfaction Stage: literature review/model development Target Journal/Date Submission: undecided Type: Empirical 10

11 2. Long-Term Research Plan Moving beyond my ongoing research projects that are expected to be submitted within 3 years and potentially lead to desired journal publications within 6 years, my long-term research plan will continue to focus on workplace diversity, compensation management, and strategic HR issues in the context of globalization. Many of these issues are not only theoretically important, but also practically imperative. I will continue to advance my knowledge with the progress of the research in the field of Human Resource Management, as well as to seek the inspiration from new HRM initiatives by practitioners. As stated in the research philosophy, I believe curiosity is the driver behind my passion for research. In the past 10 years of research in the field of Human Resource Management, my curiosity and passion for the field has been further fueled by the research activities that I have been involved in. I greatly appreciate UMD s encouraging and supportive environment for research that is committed to seeking new knowledge that can change how we all work and live. There is no doubt that I will continue to pursue high quality research to carry out the UMD research mission, to contribute to the research field of Human Resource Management, as well as to provide suggestions to HRM practitioners. 11