The comparative advantage of non-union voice in Britain, 1980-2004

Willman, Paul, Bryson, Alex, Kretschmer, Tobias and Gomez, Rafael (2013) The comparative advantage of non-union voice in Britain, 1980-2004. Industrial Relations: a Journal of Economy and Society, 52 (S1). pp. 194-220. ISSN 0019-8676

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Abstract

Non-union direct voice has replaced union representative voice as the primary avenue for employee voice in the British private sector. This study explains this development by providing a framework for examining the relationship between employee voice and workplace outcomes. Voice is associated with lower voluntary turnover, especially in the case of union voice. However, union voice is also associated with greater workplace conflict. We argue changes in voice in Britain are not best understood using a simple union/non-union dichotomy. Union effects on workplace outcomes and the incidence of human resource management hinge on whether it coexists at the workplace with non-union voice in what we term a “dual” system. In the first part of the 21st century, these dual voice systems were performing at least as well as non-union only regimes, suggesting that the rise of non-union regimes is attribu` to something other than clear comparative performance advantages over other forms of voice.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	http://www.wiley.com/bw/journal.asp?ref=0019-8676&...
Additional Information:	© 2012 Wiley-Blackwell
Divisions:	Management Centre for Economic Performance
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General) H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > HD28 Management. Industrial Management
JEL classification:	J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J2 - Time Allocation, Work Behavior, and Employment Determination and Creation; Human Capital; Retirement > J24 - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J5 - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining > J51 - Trade Unions: Objectives, Structure, and Effects J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J5 - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining > J52 - Dispute Resolution: Strikes, Arbitration, and Mediation; Collective Bargaining J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J5 - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining > J53 - Labor-Management Relations; Industrial Jurisprudence J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J6 - Mobility, Unemployment, and Vacancies > J63 - Turnover; Vacancies; Layoffs
Date Deposited:	23 Nov 2011 15:04
Last Modified:	12 Dec 2024 00:17
Projects:	108294
Funders:	Finnish Work Environment Fund
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/39714

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