US Labour Relations in Transition: Emerging Strategies and Company Performance

This report examines strategic labour relations and operational changes pursued by large, highly unionized, US manufacturing companies over the 1975–86 period. Four fairly distinguishable strategies are identified as implemented across a sample of 105 companies. These strategies are characterized by various combinations of activities associated with union avoidance, deunionization and co-operation. In addition to describing these strategies, we examine changes in company performance associated with these strategies for a subsample of 56 companies. It is found that, on the one hand, improvements in company performance are associated with extensive cooperative efforts across unionized facilities, but, on the other hand, they are also associated with the opening of non-union facilities and the simultaneous closing of unionized facilities. In contrast, the closing of unionized facilities (but not non-union facilities) and the decertification of unions are negatively associated with company performance.     

An Entrepreneurial System View of New Venture Creation

This paper reports the results of a two-phase study that explores new venture creation within the context of an entrepreneurial system. First, a genealogy of high-technology companies is presented depicting a high spin-off rate resulting from the presence of seven incubator organizations. Second, semantic structure analysis ( Spradley 1980 ) based on semi-structured interviews with founders is used to develop a taxonomy. This taxonomy depicts the relationship among components in one entrepreneurial system, Boulder County, Colorado, that encourages, supports, and enhances regional entrepreneurial activity. Findings indicate that incubator organizations, spin-offs, informal and formal networks, the physical infrastructure, and the culture of the region are related uniquely and interact to form a system conducive for dense high-technology entrepreneurial activity. Additionally, greater rates of new venture formation were found following critical moments in the life of incubator organizations.     

Who is Who

NEWS

Who is Who     

Affective and continuance commitment and their relations with deviant workplace behaviors in Korea

This study examined the nature of the relations between affective and continuance components of organizational commitment (Meyer & Allen, 1991, Human Resource Management Review, 1: 61–89) and deviant workplace behaviors (DWB; Bennett & Robinson, 2003) in a sample of 120 Korean employees and their supervisors. As expected, we found that affective commitment was negatively related, and continuance commitment was positively, albeit modestly, related to supervisor ratings of DWB. Implications for the theory and practice are discussed.     

Uncommon common sense

Global competition is intense and often thought to be for big multinationals only. Yet, Bernd Venohr and Klaus Meyer believe that mid-size firms can achieve global market leadership, as many German companies demonstrate. But, how do they do it?     

Research Note: The slow growth of foreign direct investment in the Soviet Union successor states

This note reviews the statistical evidence on foreign direct investment (FDI) in the countries of the former Soviet Union taking into account data from both host countries and countries of origin. The main characteristics of this FDI and its variation among the successor states of the Soviet Union are established. The contribution of FDI to economic transition is so far limited to some sectors and regions, and unlikely to accelerate in the near future.
JEL classification: F21, F23, P31.