Accounting for the trend in trade union recognition in Ireland

Considerable controversy surrounds the issue of union recognition in Irish industrial relations. Academic commentators have sought to identify and explain the trend in recognition since the 1980s. Their arguments are examined and tested. No secular rise in non‐recognition is evident, and ‘individualisation’ and ‘union substitution’ are shown to add little to explaining the trend. No evidence is found that the trend reflects Irish employers pursuing union suppression and US‐employers pursuing union substitution. The significant development is a sharp rise in non‐recognition among new US employers. Their anti‐union animus does not, however, appear to be coupled with any distinctive or generalised union avoidance strategy.     

The Individualization of Irish Industrial Relations?

Research claims that industrial relations in greenfield sites in Ireland are commonly individualized. Data from a representative sample of workplaces in Ireland show that no trend towards more pronounced individualization is apparent in the use of HRM practices in new as compared with established workplaces. The state of collective industrial relations in workplaces in general is also shown to be independent of the extent to which individually focused HRM practices have been adopted. The Irish findings, and recent international research, question the idea of individualization as a useful way of understanding the character and dynamics of employment relations in advanced economies.     

A metamodel approach towards self-determination theory: a study of New Zealand managers' organisational citizenship behaviours

The present study brings together the multiple dimensions of self-determination theory (SDT), the three facilitators (global aspirations, global motivation and mindfulness), the three needs (autonomy, competence and relatedness) and perceived autonomous support (PAS) towards the organisational citizenship behaviours (OCBs) of 386 New Zealand managers. SDT suggests that individuals with higher SDT dimensions will achieve greater motivation and well-being; however, few studies include more than one SDT dimension. The findings show that overall the majority of SDT dimensions were significantly correlated to OCB dimensions. Moderated regression analysis found that autonomous motivation was positively related to OCBs with controlled motivations negatively related to OCBs. PAS and most of the need satisfaction dimensions were also positively related to OCBs. Intrinsic aspirations were only related to OCBs individual. PAS was also tested as a moderator of SDT dimensions, and five significant interactions were found to influence OCBs individual and one to influence OCBs organisational. Overall, the highest levels of OCBs were reported by managers with higher than average PAS and those who rated highly on the SDT dimensions. This study provides strong and consistent support that SDT dimensions influence OCBs, and the consistent influence of PAS highlights the importance of workplace context.     

When does uncovered interest parity hold?

A consensus is emerging that returns to the currency carry trade are driven by two factors. One of these is probably consumption risk but there is widespread disagreement about the identity of the remaining factor. This paper bolsters the case for volatility being the unknown factor. A structural model that specifies that monetary volatility is the second factor is tested for 56 monetary regimes using the artificial economy methodology. The negative slope in the Fama regression arises when monetary volatility is low and the precautionary savings motive dominates the intertemporal substitution motive. When monetary volatility is high, the Fama slope is positive in line with uncovered interest parity. We conclude that, given the predominance of precautionary savings, the degree of monetary volatility explains whether uncovered interest parity holds.     

Decision Comprehensiveness and Corporate Entrepreneurship: The Moderating Role of Managerial Uncertainty Preferences and Environmental Dynamism

Although comprehensiveness is considered among the most salient and enduring strategic decision-making characteristics in organizations, its influence on firm behaviour has remained elusive. As a first step, our study builds and tests a model that specifies the influence of comprehensiveness on the firm's pursuit of corporate entrepreneurship. Our core argument is that while comprehensiveness helps decision-makers gain the knowledge needed to escape the ignorance and overcome doubt associated with this pursuit, this beneficial influence is conditional upon managerial uncertainty preferences, together with the level of dynamism in the external environment. Findings from a large sample study of CEOs from 349 SMEs provide general support for this argument and associated hypotheses.     

Partnership structures and agendas and managers' assessments of stakeholder outcomes

The theory of workplace partnership suggests that partnership structures combining strategic and operational arrangements and addressing substantively significant agendas of broad scope should lead to positive outcomes for the main stakeholder groups: employers, employees and unions. Data from a survey of managers involved in all known partnerships in unionised companies in the Republic of Ireland in 2000 are used to distinguish ‘integrated business partnerships’, where such structures and agendas prevail, and ‘exploratory partnerships’ characterised by operational or strategic structures only and relatively sparse or narrow agendas. Managers involved in integrated business partnerships are shown to assess more positively a range of current and expected outcomes of significance for each stakeholder group. However, managers' assessments and expectations also point towards a bias in favour of employer interests in the outcomes of integrated business partnerships. The theoretical and policy implications of the results are considered.     

A conceptual model of public sector corporate entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship has been conceptualized as a process that can occur in organizations of all sizes and types (Burgelman, Academy of Management Review, 8, 32–47, 1983; Miller, Management Science, 29, 770–791, 1983; Gartner, Academy of Management Review, 10, 696–706, 1985; Kao, Entrepreneurship, creativity and organization, 1989). This paper develops a conceptual model of public sector corporate entrepreneurship. The proposed model is intended to depict the main antecedents that relate to corporate entrepreneurship within the public sector and the impact of corporate entrepreneurship on public sector organizational performance (growth, development and productivity), as well as factors influencing its continuous performance. Following discussion of the model’s contents, the potential value for researchers and those engaging in public sector corporate entrepreneurship are described.     

Between Regime Fragmentation and Realignment: Irish Industrial Relations in the 1990s

The future of European industrial relations systems has been discussed in the literature in terms of either ‘inter-regime competition’, or progressive ‘intra-regime fragmentation’. Within the context of this debate the article examines developments in Irish industrial relations during the 1990s. The impact of fragmentation on attempts to realign Irish industrial relations practices and institutions in support of a ‘high road’ national competitive and industrial strategy is examined.