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Flexibility and Fairness in Liberal Market Economies: The Comparative Impact of the Legal Environment and High‐Performance Work Systems

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  • Alexander J. S. Colvin

Abstract

This paper compares management flexibility in employment decision making in the United States and Canada through a cross‐national survey of organizations in representative jurisdictions in each country, Pennsylvania and Ontario, respectively, that investigates the impact of differences in their legal environments. The results indicate that, compared to their Ontario counterparts, organizations in Pennsylvania have a higher degree of flexibility in employment outcomes, such as higher dismissal and discipline rates, yet do not experience any greater flexibility or simplicity in management hiring and firing decisions. One explanation for this result may lie in the finding that organizations in Pennsylvania experience greater legal pressures on decision making, reflecting the generally more intense conflict in the employment law system in the United States. By contrast, high‐performance work systems, which some have looked to as a possible management‐driven mechanism for enhancing fairness in employment, had more modest effects.

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  • Alexander J. S. Colvin, 2006. "Flexibility and Fairness in Liberal Market Economies: The Comparative Impact of the Legal Environment and High‐Performance Work Systems," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 44(1), pages 73-97, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:brjirl:v:44:y:2006:i:1:p:73-97
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8543.2006.00488.x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Richard N. Block & Karen Roberts & R. Oliver Clarke, 2003. "Labor Standards in the United States and Canada," Books from Upjohn Press, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, number ls, November.
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    Cited by:

    1. MARTIN Ludivine, 2007. "The impact of technological changes on incentives and motivations to work hard," IRISS Working Paper Series 2007-15, IRISS at CEPS/INSTEAD.
    2. Jos Gamble & Qihai Huang, 2009. "One Store, Two Employment Systems: Core, Periphery and Flexibility in China's Retail Sector," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 47(1), pages 1-26, March.
    3. Mark Harcourt & Maureen Hannay & Helen Lam, 2013. "Distributive Justice, Employment-at-Will and Just-Cause Dismissal," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 115(2), pages 311-325, June.
    4. Danielle D. Van Jaarsveld & Hyunji Kwon & Ann C. Frost, 2009. "The Effects of Institutional and Organizational Characteristics on Work Force Flexibility: Evidence from Call Centers in Three Liberal Market Economies," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 62(4), pages 573-601, July.
    5. Alexander J. S. Colvin & Owen Darbishire, 2013. "Convergence in Industrial Relations Institutions: The Emerging Anglo-American Model?," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 66(5), pages 1047-1077, October.
    6. Benoit Pierre Freyens & Paul Oslington, 2021. "The impact of unfair dismissal regulation: Evidence from an Australian natural experiment," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 35(2), pages 264-290, June.

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