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Dual Commitment: Contract Workers in Australian Manufacturing Enterprises[Note 1. Address for reprints: John Benson, The University of Melbourne, ...]
Author(s) -
Benson John
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
journal of management studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.398
H-Index - 184
eISSN - 1467-6486
pISSN - 0022-2380
DOI - 10.1111/1467-6486.00097
Subject(s) - outsourcing , dual (grammatical number) , business , core (optical fiber) , key (lock) , dual role , marketing , host (biology) , industrial organization , art , ecology , materials science , literature , composite material , biology , chemistry , combinatorial chemistry
A growing trend in employment practices is for firms to concentrate on their core functions and outsource peripheral activities. While an assessment of the economic benefits of outsourcing has been the subject of a number of research projects, little attempt has been made to evaluate the impact of such practices on employee commitment. This is the purpose of this paper. The central questions are can employees be committed to their employer and to their host enterprise, and what determines each form of commitment? The research is based on a survey of employees working for a major labour hire firm. The key finding of the research is that employees can have a dual commitment, although different factors influence commitment to the employer and to the host firm.