Social Partnership or a ‘Complete Sellout’? Russian Trade Unions’ Responses to Conflict

In 1990 the former communist trade unions in Russia adopted a programme of social partnership, the aim of which was to defend their members’ interests during transition while also maintaining social peace. But critics of social partnership within the union movement argue that it amounts to little more than an excuse for inaction. To examine whether social partnership represents a departure from the collaborationist habits of the Soviet past, I examine 33 case studies of conflict at enterprise level conducted between 1999 and 2000. This analysis reveals considerable continuity with Soviet practice.     

‘Meet the New Boss … Same as the Old boss?’ Technology,toil and tension in the agrofuel frontier

Agrofuels are increasingly sourced and sold as a socially and environmentally beneficial solution to oil dependence. The promotion of sugar‐derived ethanol as a substitute for petroleum has thus been key to state development and international trade policies by Brazil and the European Union, respectively, and subsequent investment by leading energy and food transnational corporations has transformed socio‐spatial relations in the new sites of production. Brazilian rural worker testimonies, however, point to large‐scale labour exclusion rather than reform and a deepening, rather than disruption, of historic power inequalities in the sector. Labour contestation challenges a converging institutional discourse of responsible technological innovation and social upgrading associated with emerging commodity chains and the ‘green’ economy. Although corporate and statutory response has been market‐orientated certification and ‘more technology’ the idea of the ‘techno‐institutional fix’ provides a power relation‐attentive analysis that invites the further exploration of socially committed alternatives to food and energy production.     

‘Communities of resistance’ and the use of newspaper discussion boards: Polish workers in Japanese foreign investments

This article examines the content of 200 posts on newspaper discussion boards by workers in a cluster of Japanese foreign investments in Poland. The conclusions are first, that the material experiences of workers generate a set of themes in relation to the labour process with regard to wages and working conditions, bullying and monitoring that exhibit similarities across countries. Second, we argue that an analysis of the discourse used is shaped by political and institutional conditions, which reveal national differences in how workers perceive and locate their exploitation. Finally, in relation to debates about workers’ resistance and the use of the Internet we argue that the interaction of themes related to the material experience of work are intertwined with institutionally embedded understandings of exploitation, which not only enable a shared framework for venting, but also provide the basis for a community of resistance.     

Legitimizing Illegal Protest: The Permissive Ideational Environment and ‘Bossnappings’ in France

In France, in 2009–2010, on several occasions, managers announcing redundancies were held hostage by workers. Public opinion polls show widespread support for the ‘bossnappers’, while the State did not taken action against them. Employing the insights of new institutionalism and social movement theory, this article explains the legitimization of such radical, illegal action through the notion of a permissive ideational environment resulting from a tradition of trade union militancy, pre‐existing concerns over globalization and more recent fears of, and government and trade union responses to, globalization and the current economic crisis.     

From ‘embrace and change’ to ‘engage and change’: trade union renewal and new management strategies in the UK automotive industry?

This article focuses on the relationship between the introduction of new management techniques (NMTs), trade union responses and employee attitudes in the automotive industry in the UK. In contrast to a prevailing pessimistic prognosis for the survival of traditional industrial relations in the 'new management' environment, unions remain as an independent and dissenting force. Paradoxically, one of the significant features driving union recovery has been the opportunities presented by the very nature of NMTs themselves which, among other things, have opened the possibility for increased local autonomy.     

‘The Magnificent 7[am]?’ Work‐life articulation beyond the 9[am] to 5[pm] ‘norm’

This article focuses on the work‐life ‘balance’ challenges of those who work in organisations that operate beyond standard hours. The concept of work‐life articulation is utilised to examine the experiences and practicalities of attempting to reconcile the, often competing, demands of employment and family life. Qualitative research was conducted in two private sector businesses and one‐third sector organisation in the UK during the onset of the 2008 financial crisis. The findings reveal increasing competitive pressures, efficiency drives and work intensification. ‘Business needs’ are prioritised over care responsibilities, and in the private sector organisations there is declining flexible working with a reassertion of the management prerogative. This article contributes to current debates over work‐life ‘balance’ and highlights variable, changeable and unpredictable working time arrangements that permeate non‐standard hours, which creates additional complexities and challenges for family time schedules and routines.     

Porter's ‘competitive advantage of nations’: An assessment

Porter's Competitive Advantage of Nations is an important book which bridges the gap between strategic management and international economics while contributing substantially to both. Porter's analysis of the impact of national environment on international competitive performance demonstrates the potential for the theory of competitive strategy to rescue international economics from its slide into refined irrelevance, while simultaneously broadening the scope of the theory of competitive strategy to encompass both the international dimension and the dynamic context of competition. Nevertheless, the breadth and relevance of Porter's analysis have been achieved at the expense of precision and determinancy. Concepts are often ill defined, theoretical relationships poorly specified, and empirical data chosen selectively and interpreted subjectively.     

Legacies,Conflict and ‘Path Dependence’ in the Former Soviet Union

This article analyses management–union–worker relations in a foreign‐owned Moldovan clothing factory. Studies of post‐socialist industrial relations have focused on explaining labour quiescence, advancing ‘path dependence’ and ‘Soviet legacy’ arguments. These draw attention to strong links between management and unions, and weak relations between the latter and workers. We show how the union has, in one case, drawn creatively on Soviet legacies to develop strong articulation between itself and women workers. This was part of a wider adaptive strategy within which the union transformed the meaning of previous functions and developed novel ones. The outcome is a well‐organized representative union capable of challenging management at the negotiating table, as well as on the shop floor. This seems unlikely to be universal but equally unlikely to be unique.     

‘Compunications’: a policy agenda

There are four points which are especially useful in understanding the evolving world of computers and communications in the USA.¹ The first is that the information industries, which were separate and distinct as recently as a decade ago, are now tightly intertwined and in turmoil. Second, the demands and stakes of individual consumers are undergoing significant changes. Third, there are great economic and political stakes in the information world. Finally, the stance of the US government in general is marginally adequate, at best, to cope with the turmoil.     

Doing well by doing good—case study: ‘Fair & Lovely’ whitening cream

According to the ‘doing well by doing good’ proposition, firms have a corporate social responsibility to achieve some larger social goals, and can do so without a financial sacrifice. This research note empirically examines this proposition by studying in depth the case of ‘Fair & Lovely,’ a skin whitening cream marketed by Unilever in many countries in Asia and Africa, and, in particular, India. Fair & Lovely is indeed doing well; it is a profitable and fast‐growing brand. It is, however, not doing good, and I demonstrate its negative implications for public welfare. I conclude with thoughts on how to reconcile this divergence between private profits and public welfare. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

‘We can only request what's in our protocol’: technology and work autonomy in healthcare

This article explores the tension between standardization and autonomy raised by the implementation of new technology in healthcare organizations. The theoretical frame of this study is grounded in the impact of new technologies on work organization, routinization and autonomy across settings. Empirically it presents evidence from two NHS Trusts in England that implemented a national Electronic Patient Record (EPR). The paper aims to reinvigorate the debate on the tension between standardization and autonomy in professional workplaces such as healthcare. It argues that the implication of technology in professional work conditions processes of task routinization that constrain autonomy, and enables reallocation of discretion between professional groups. We argue that routinization is not restricted to low‐skill work but may travel across contexts and be evidenced in high‐skill work environments. The interplay between routinization and autonomy is also useful in drawing insights concerning the dynamics of change that occur in professional work.     

The economic modeling of strategy process: ‘clean models’ and ‘dirty hands’

We argue that our model of learning in alliances ( Khanna, Gulati and Nohria, 1998 ) is an economic model of strategy process. We discuss implications of this view for the strategy process vs. content debate, for the appropriate testing of models of strategy process, and for the role of economics in helping understand strategy process. We propose that the ‘clean models’ from economics and ‘dirty hands’ of traditional process inquiries offer research designs that are complementary rather than incompatible ( Hirsch, Michaels and Friedman, 1987 ). Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Entrapped by the ‘electronic panopticon’? Worker resistance in the call centre

This article presents a thoroughgoing critique of Fernie and Metcalf's perspective, that the call centre is characterised by the operation of an 'electronic panopticon' in which supervisory power has been 'rendered perfect'. Drawing on evidence from a telecommunications call centre the authors analyse the significance of emerging forms of employee resistance.     

Accounting for National and Sectoral Variance in the Implementation of European Social Partner ‘Soft’ Law: The Cases of the Implementation of the Telework and Work‐Related Stress Agreements

This article investigates the factors that explicate the implementation of European social partner ‘soft’ framework agreements. The implementation of two such agreements, the Telework and Work‐Related Stress Agreements, in four countries and two sectors is investigated. Seven hypotheses, primarily derived from the study of generic European ‘soft’ law, about the factors that explain the implementation of European social partner ‘soft’ law are tested. The article concludes that European social partner ‘soft’ law is distinctive from generic European ‘soft’ law in that its successful implementation is contingent upon the extent the industrial relations system in which it is implemented is centralized and co‐ordinated.     

The ‘Flexible Firm’: Strategy and Segmentation

This paper draws together and provides further analysis of two research projects commissioned by the Department of Employment, with a focus on employers' labour use strategies in Britain. It seeks to place on a firmer statistical basis arguments about the presence and growth of the ‘flexible firm’, and it draws also on case-study data to explore some of the issues relating to flexibility and strategy. Our conclusions are that there has been a marked absence of strategy in this area, and reasons for this are explored, as are the implications for gender and segmentation in the labour market.     

The concept of ‘impartition’ policies: A different approach to vertical integration strategies

The inverse of vertical integration, ‘impartition’, is defined as an entrepreneurial behaviour which consists in casting other firms (partners) for different parts of its overall system of activities. A firm imparts when, in order to allocate its own resources to activities more congruent with its strategic objectives, it contracts out instead of doing in-house. This concept also involves a cooperative attitude towards partners for a mutual profit based on external synergies. The developed pattern has a large range of applications: subcontracting, proxy agreements, agency contracts, international production sharing, product mandating, franchising, licensing and a growing number of intangibles. The use of the impartition leverage may amplify the strategic power of a firm and its capacity for fast growth. In response to severe worldwide competition and accelerating technological and social changes, four overall principles underlie an impartition policy: high turnover, organizational flexibility, strategic mobility and external synergies. In conclusion the author insists on the necessity of mastering the art of resources management.     

The kill programme: an ethnographic study of ‘dirty work’ in a slaughterhouse

It has been argued that ‘dirty work’ is characterised by strong occupational and workgroup cultures. This literature has mainly focused on direct workers, but this article largely attends to indirect ‘dirty’ workers, specifically meat inspectors, through ethnographic research conducted in a UK slaughterhouse. Four arguments are developed; the first is that ‘dirty workers’ may not all display group cohesiveness; indeed, individualisation may be more evident depending upon the technology used, internationalisation and employment conditions. Second, there is complexity and diversity within ‘dirty work’ and even single occupations can contain considerable variety, rendering generalisations problematic. Third, we argue that much greater attention needs to be given to the wider contextual issues affecting ‘dirty work’, specifically changing labour markets, itinerant labour, economic conditions and technologies. Finally, we argue that stigmatised work may become more so if it is equated with the low wage economy and/or undercutting conditions of employment through exploiting migrant labour.     

‘Mental mobility’ in the digital age: entrepreneurs and the online home‐based business

Home‐based online business ventures are an increasingly pervasive yet under‐researched phenomenon. The experiences and mindset of entrepreneurs setting up and running such enterprises require better understanding. Using data from a qualitative study of 23 online home‐based business entrepreneurs, we propose the augmented concept of ‘mental mobility’ to encapsulate how they approach their business activities. Drawing on Howard P. Becker's early theorising of mobility, together with Victor Turner's later notion of liminality, we conceptualise mental mobility as the process through which individuals navigate the liminal spaces between the physical and digital spheres of work and the overlapping home/workplace, enabling them to manipulate and partially reconcile the spatial, temporal and emotional tensions that are present in such work environments. Our research also holds important applications for alternative employment contexts and broader social orderings because of the increasingly pervasive and disruptive influence of technology on experiences of remunerated work.     

PLATFORM COMPETITION WITH ‘MUST‐HAVE’ COMPONENTS*

In platform‐component systems with indirect network effects, some ‘must‐have’ components are so popular with consumers that they create large, discrete indirect network effects when they become available on a platform. For example, ESPN is a must‐have component of cable TV platforms. This paper examines how platform market structures determine exclusive versus non‐exclusive contracts between platforms and components. It shows that a component provider is more likely to sign exclusive contracts with a single platform if its popularity is high, the platform market share difference is large, and cross‐platform indirect network effects are low.     

Response to McGahan and Porter's commentary on ‘Industry,corporate and business‐segment effects and business performance: a non‐parametric approach’

In the comment on Ruefli and Wiggins (2003), a number of points are made supporting the variance component analysis approach to determining the importance of industry, corporate, and business segment factors on business segment performance. This response addresses in more detail the nature of the methodological and statistical assumptions made by variance components analysis or ANOVA and their implications for the ‘puzzling’ results obtained when these techniques are employed. The response then contrasts the variance‐based methodologies with a non‐parametric approach used in Ruefli and Wiggins (2003) that makes fewer and weaker assumptions and yields more robust and more internally consistent results. The response also examines the limitations of employing an autoregressive approach to measuring persistence of abnormal profits and contrasts it with a non‐parametric methodology presented in the article. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.