Shades of gray: effect of external work arrangements on firm performance under operational and strategic contingencies

Bouncken, Ricarda B.; Lehmann, Christian; Ratzmann, Martin

doi:10.1007/s11573-013-0674-4

Cited by 9 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 103 publications

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“…The literature regarding the relationship between temporary workers and innovation ability remains mainly misunderstood due to its complex nature. On the one side, scholars argue that flexible workplace practices such as temporary contracts, increase firms’ abilities to accumulate knowledge, create value and organizational flexibility (Davis-Blake and Uzzi, 1993; Matusik and Hill, 1998; Bouncken et al, 2013), what could be positively reflected on firm’s innovativeness. Franceschi and Mariani (2016) argued that as firms are influenced by technological and demand shocks, hiring temporary workers helps them to respond to those changes quickly, what could generate positive effects on innovation.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Temporary workers and firm performance

Moric

Peković

Perović

et al. 2020

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Purpose Although temporary work arrangements play a strategically important role in contemporary economic development, its influence on firm performance has remained elusive. In our work we measure firm performance from the systematic perspective, including both innovation and financial performance. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to test a model that specifies the influence of temporary work arrangements on the two indicators of firm performance, namely, innovation and sales. Design/methodology/approach This research is based on the Business Environment and Enterprise Performance Survey (BEEPS, 2009) created by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the World Bank. As the relationship between temporary workers and firm performance could be contingent on institutional setting, we divide our sample in three country groups: European Union (EU), European countries outside the European Union (non-EU) and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries. Furthermore, we analyze the actual question on all three groups of countries separately. Findings Findings provide support for the positive relationship between the percentage of temporary workers and innovation performance. On the other hand, the evidence reveals a negative link between the percentage of temporary workers and financial performance measured by sales. Taking into account country-specific effects, the results remain negative when examining the influence of the percentage of temporary workers on the financial performance measured by sales for all three country groups (EU, non-EU and CIS countries). However, the positive and significant effect of the share of temporary workers on innovation performance holds only for non-EU and CIS countries but is not observed for EU countries. Practical implications Given the importance of temporary work arrangements in terms of a systematic approach in contemporary business, policymakers should continue to work on improving their status to overcome potential negative outcomes related to the temporary workers’ engagement. In addition, managers of the firms should be aware that temporary workers could be a valuable source of innovation; however, they could hamper other aspects of firm performance. Therefore, they should be cautious when hiring temporary workers and find the “best balance” between permanent and temporary workers. Originality/value The obtained findings highlight the importance of performance context systematic approach in studying the impact of temporary workers and firm performance. Based on the obtained findings, we may suggest that knowledge and creativity accumulation through temporary workers’ engagement is beneficial for innovation performance improvement. Conversely, long-lasting labour engagement is necessary for financial performance improvement.

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Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Temporary workers and firm performance

Moric

Peković

Perović

et al. 2020

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“…This study challenged the widespread assumption that temporary workers are disposable resources. Researchers have generally found positive relationships between using contractors and organizational performance, such as labor productivity (e.g., Chan et al, 2010; Ogbari et al, 2015) and financial performance (Bouncken et al, 2013; Ferriani et al, 2009).…”

Section: Moving Forward: Future Research Agendamentioning

confidence: 99%

Gig work and gig workers: An integrative review and agenda for future research

Wu,

Huang

2024

J Organ Behavior

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SummaryGig workers have become an important component of the contemporary workforce and have generated extensive interest among researchers. The purpose of this article is to provide an integrative review of the literature on gig workers. Consistent with the more recent studies, we adopt a broad definition of gig work, which is characterized by the temporary nature of the work, project‐based compensation, work flexibility, and non‐membership in an organization. We first discuss the major themes in the literature based on an input–process–output framework. Specifically, we review what factors drive individuals to engage in gig work, how gig work impacts gig workers based on four theoretical approaches, and what outcomes individuals experience as a result of engaging in gig work. Based on the literature review, we highlight six future research agendas. We also discuss practical implications for gig workers, traditional organizations, digital labor platforms, and society.

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“…Instead, they are seen as better suited to the execution of plans (Bouncken et al 2012). The difficulty of the tasks to be performed by external workers influences their performance, making general IT consultants better suited to simple tasks with low qualification requirements (Bouncken et al 2013).…”

Section: It Consultantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Knowledge retention is seen as a general problem with the use of consultants. The knowledge gained by temporary workers is not retained in the organization (Bouncken et al 2013). If combined with Henningsson's (2015) conclusion that acquisition of IT integration has to be experienced to be learned, this seems a reasonable consequence of high dependence on IT consultants for acquisition IT integration.…”

Section: It Consultantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

IT Consultants in Acquisition IT Integration

Henningsson

Øhrgaard²

2016

Bus Inf Syst Eng

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Increasingly, companies are drawing on capacities provided by external consultants to design and execute strategic IT initiatives. However, despite evidence of the impact of such services on IT performance, little is still known about the roles external consultants serve in relation to specific strategic IT initiatives and how companies can draw effectively on their services. This paper investigates the use of consultants in relation to one type of major strategic IT initiative: acquisition IT integration. Acquisition IT integration, which is the integration of the acquirer's and target's IT following a corporate acquisition, presents a difficult but crucial IT challenge for the many acquiring organizations. Through a comparative case study of four acquirers, theoretically grounded in the resource-based view of the firm, we analyse how acquirers draw on external consultants to realize acquisition IT integration. We identify two complementary and two supplementary roles consultants assume in these projects. Additionally, we identify three characteristics of the acquisition IT integration strategy that influence how the acquirers assign different roles to IT consultants. The resulting model, depicting the use of external consultants in acquisition IT integration, contributes to the literature on acquisition IT integration by providing an explanation for IT-based value creation in acquisition that is rooted in the external of the acquirer. In addition to adding to the limited, but highly relevant, extant literature on acquisition IT integration, the study also provides general insights into the use of consultants to address strategic IT initiatives.

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Shades of gray: effect of external work arrangements on firm performance under operational and strategic contingencies

Cited by 9 publications

References 103 publications

Temporary workers and firm performance

Temporary workers and firm performance

Gig work and gig workers: An integrative review and agenda for future research

IT Consultants in Acquisition IT Integration

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