Industrial Relations in Transition Economies: Emergent Industrial Relations Institutions in Bulgaria

East European societies currently in transition to market economies are creating new structures for industrial relations. Transition has ambiguous effects upon the relations between industrial relations institutions and the state. On the one hand, economic pluralism implies separation between state and economy and 'depoliticization'. On the other, economic crises and threats to social order require co-operation between state and unions. The influence of the state is greater because of the embryonic form of employer organization and enterprise-level management. This paper examines the political and economic contexts of industrial relations in Bulgaria, as an example of one type of 'constrained' collective bargaining system. The paper emphasizes continuities between the communist and post-communist period, and the central role of trade unions in the transition process.     

Comparative Industrial Relations Research: Towards Reversing the Gender Bias

This paper seeks to begin the reversal of the gender bias in comparative industrial relations research which is still focused on comparing and contrasting the regimes that cover mainly male manual workers. There is little systematic evidence on industrial relations practices in private or even public services, for non-manual workers or for atypical workers. These employment areas are central for women's employment and are of increasing importance in the labour market, but few attempts have been made to compare industrial relations regimes by reference to the protection they afford to women. Taking into account industrial relations practice in these areas can change significantly the classification and estimated coverage of collective bargaining systems. By 'mainstrearning' gender issues it also becomes clear that current macroeconomic policy proposals have major gender implications that are ignored in current debates     

Methods Matter: Changes in Industrial Relations Research and their Implications

An analysis of leading industrial relations journals suggests that there have been substantial changes in IR research, particularly a shift from inductive, qualitative and policy-oriented research to deductive, quantitative and discipline-oriented research. This is seen to reflect a change in the pressures under which IR research is conducted and the increased availability of computer technology and extensive IR data sets. Important differences remain in research methodology among countries, with US-based journals being the most quantitative and deductive.     

Japanese Research Consortia: A Microeconometric Analysis of Industrial Policy

Despite the existence of much theoretical research analyzing the potential benefits and costs of R&D consortia, there has been little corresponding empirical work on their efficacy. In this paper, we undertake a large-sample econometric study of Japanese government-sponsored research consortia. We find evidence that frequent participation in these consortia has a positive impact on research expenditure and research productivity. These results hold after controlling for the potential endogeneity of intensity of participation in consortia to participating firms' research productivity. Furthermore, we find evidence that part of this impact arises from the increased knowledge spillovers that take place within these consortia.     

Globalization and Industrial Relations in East Asia: A Three-Country Comparison

Globalization enhances competitiveness, both at the level of the firm and at the level of the nation. As observed in China, Malaysia, and Korea, this leads management and the state to adopt strategies designed to increase labor effectiveness to the benefit of capital. However, the effect of globalization on industrial relations procedures and substantive outcomes is contingent. Pressure for greater flexibility in the use of labor is ubiquitous, but the outcome is constrained by cultural norms valuing hierarchy and security. State strategies vary by historical circumstance, resource endowments, and internal political dynamics, including the influence of trade unions. While Malaysian industrial relations is heavily constrained by the discipline of high exposure to international capital, in China and Korea, major struggles are shaping the future of workplace and national labor market governance. Thus the extent and impact of globalization vary between countries, resulting in similar preoccupations by policymakers yet leading to variable responses and industrial relations outcomes.     

Industrial Relations in Privatized UK Mining: A Contingency Strategy?

This paper explores variations in the pattern of colliery level industrial relations following the privatization of British Coal in four pits operated by the largest coal mining company in the UK. Differences are explained in terms of the competing institutions representing mineworkers and, most significantly, in relation to whether the mode of acquisition of the colliery required the management to maintain existing terms and conditions as a result of the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981.     

Root Metaphor in Industrial Relations: A Reply to Tom Keenoy

Where Keenoy takes liberties, I try to correct him. I did not say that the 'old' industrial relations has been superceded by the 'new'. Nor did I suggest a Kuhnian paradigm shift. Nor did my argument hinge upon these things happening. Quite the opposite, in fact. The root metaphors are a problem precisely because little is scientifically decided between 'old' and 'new'. Once such wrinkles have been ironed out, Keenoy and I seem to agree on a great deal. His conclusion, however, is more comforting than mine.     

Industrial Relations, Social Pacts and Welfare Expenditures: A Cross-national Comparison

Industrial relations and welfare state are interrelated. On the basis of time‐series data for 20 OECD countries, this paper discusses and tests the impact of industrial relations on social expenditures, including ‘social pacts’ as a means of combining wage moderation and welfare state reforms. The findings suggest that industrial relations have an impact mainly through the differential effects of distinct bargaining systems: a minor impact results from their externalities. The major impact ensues from their differing degrees of politicization, leading to higher expenditures in the case of peak‐level arrangements, as compared to more decentralized systems. Hence, the widely assumed potential of social pacts for welfare state reforms has been exaggerated.     

British Managers' Attitudes and Behaviour in Industrial Relations: A Twenty-Year Study

A unique longitudinal study of Britain's managers conducted in 1980, 1990 and 2000 permits comparisons of managerial attitudes and behaviour in industrial relations over twenty years. We find clear evidence of the relationship between macro‐level political and economic movements of the period from 1980 up until the late 1990s on managerial attitudes, the impact of changes in power relations and the ‘lag effect’ of institutions. The most unexpected findings are the modest rise of managerial unionism in the 1990s and the limited evidence of the replacement of collective bargaining by either individual or group involvement or by employee financial participation.     

Stability in Germany's Industrial Relations: A Critique on Hassel's Erosion Thesis

In a recent article entitled 'The Erosion of Industrial Relations in Germany', Anke Hassel (1999) claimed that German industrial relations have been eroded during the last two decades. This paper questions the argument, maintaining that Germany's basic industrial relations system remains intact and that the major changes in Germany relate to unification and the public sector.