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Not Featherbedding, but Feathering the Nest: Human Resource Management and Investments in Information Technology
Author(s) -
Litwin Adam Seth
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
industrial relations: a journal of economy and society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.61
H-Index - 57
eISSN - 1468-232X
pISSN - 0019-8676
DOI - 10.1111/irel.12010
Subject(s) - investment (military) , set (abstract data type) , business , work (physics) , industrial organization , information technology , human resources , human resource management , resource (disambiguation) , section (typography) , knowledge management , marketing , labour economics , economics , management , political science , engineering , computer science , mechanical engineering , computer network , politics , law , programming language , advertising
This study draws on employment relations and management theory, claiming that certain innovative employment practices and work structures pave the way for organizational innovation, namely investments in information technology (IT). It then finds support for the theory in a cross‐section of UK workplaces. The findings suggest that firms slow to adopt IT realize that their conventional employment model hinders their ability to make optimal use of new technologies. Therefore, the paper advances the literature beyond studies of unionization's impact on business investment to a broader set of issues on the employment relations features that make organizations ripe for innovation.