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Union responses to ‘multi‐enterprise’ factories in the Italian motor industry
Author(s) -
Pulignano Valeria
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
industrial relations journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.525
H-Index - 3
eISSN - 1468-2338
pISSN - 0019-8692
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-2338.2005.00351.x
Subject(s) - insourcing , outsourcing , business , context (archaeology) , purchasing , industrial organization , work (physics) , core (optical fiber) , european union , marketing , international trade , mechanical engineering , paleontology , materials science , engineering , composite material , biology
During the 1990s, outsourcing work was commonly associated with the weakening of union organisation and the deterioration of pay, working conditions and job security. A variant of outsourcing, termed here as ‘insourcing’, involves a firm purchasing ‘non‐core’ functions and services from enterprises located under the same roof. This case study of Fiat outlines the impact of insourcing on traditional arrangements and practices, and analyses the response of Italian local unions. The findings indicate that in the context of ‘bargained compromise’ between trade unions and management in the Italian motor industry insourcing did not have the negative implications for union organisation and employee terms and conditions associated with traditional outsourcing.