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Contested Resources: Unions, Employers, and the Adoption of New Work Practices in US and UK Telecommunications
Author(s) -
Ramirez Matias,
Guy Frederick,
Beale David
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
british journal of industrial relations
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.665
H-Index - 70
eISSN - 1467-8543
pISSN - 0007-1080
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-8543.2007.00625.x
Subject(s) - deregulation , work (physics) , contingency , power (physics) , simple (philosophy) , business , strategic choice , telecommunications , public relations , economics , industrial organization , political science , market economy , engineering , mechanical engineering , linguistics , philosophy , physics , epistemology , quantum mechanics
The pattern of adoption of high‐performance work practices has been explained in terms of strategic contingency and in terms of union presence. We compare the post‐deregulation/privatization changes in work practice at AT&T, Bell Atlantic and British Telecom. On the basis of these cases, we argue that the choice of new work practices should be understood as a consequence not only of the company's resources or changes in its environment, nor of a simple union presence, but also as a consequence of the practices' effects on union power, the nature of the union's engagement, and the union's strategic choices.