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The Role of Temporary Agency Work in Different Industrial Relations Systems — a Comparison between Germany and the USA
Author(s) -
Mitlacher Lars W.
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.1467-8543.2007.00629.x
Subject(s) - agency (philosophy) , work (physics) , software deployment , industrial relations , temporary work , business , economics , sociology , management , engineering , social science , mechanical engineering , software engineering
Abstract Although temporary agency work has been growing over the last decade, its use differs widely in different industrial relations systems. Drawing on theoretical and empirical insights, propositions are developed on why companies deploy temporary agency work. These propositions are then contrasted with case‐study evidence collected in Germany and the USA to analyse the deployment of agency work in two different industrial relations systems and the role that agency work plays in these diverse settings. The main conclusions of the research are that differences in the deployment of temporary agency workers exist with regard to legal regulation and employers' strategies of labour use while similarities exist regarding the supply of agency labour.