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.

中文翻译：

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临时工和公司绩效：东欧和中欧国家的经验和系统方法

目的

尽管临时工作安排在当代经济发展中起着战略性的重要作用，但其对公司绩效的影响仍然难以捉摸。在我们的工作中，我们从系统的角度衡量公司的绩效，包括创新和财务绩效。因此，本研究的目的是检验一个模型，该模型指定临时工作安排对公司绩效的两个指标即创新和销售的影响。

设计/方法/方法

这项研究基于欧洲复兴开发银行和世界银行创建的商业环境和企业绩效调查（BEEPS，2009）。由于临时工与公司绩效之间的关系可能取决于机构设置，因此我们将样本划分为三个国家组：欧盟（EU），欧盟以外的欧洲国家（non-EU）和独立国家联合体（CIS） ）国家。此外，我们分别分析了所有三组国家的实际问题。

发现

研究结果为临时工百分比与创新绩效之间的正向关系提供了支持。另一方面，证据表明临时工的百分比与以销售衡量的财务绩效之间存在负相关关系。考虑到特定国家的影响，在检查三个国家组（欧盟，非欧盟和独联体国家）的临时工百分比对通过销售衡量的财务绩效的影响时，结果仍然为负。但是，临时工所占份额对创新绩效的积极而显着的影响仅在非欧盟和独联体国家有效，而在欧盟国家却没有。

实际影响

考虑到临时工作安排在当代企业中采用系统化方法的重要性，决策者应继续努力改善其地位，以克服与临时工参与有关的潜在负面结果。此外，企业的管理者应意识到临时工可能是创新的宝贵来源；但是，它们可能会阻碍公司绩效的其他方面。因此，他们在雇用临时工时应保持谨慎，并在长期工和临时工之间找到“最佳平衡”。

创意/价值

获得的发现强调了绩效背景系统方法在研究临时工人和公司绩效的影响中的重要性。根据获得的发现，我们可能建议通过临时工的参与积累知识和创造力有助于创新绩效的提高。相反，长期的劳动投入对于改善财务绩效是必要的。