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Human Resource Management as a Substitute for Trade Unions in British Workplaces

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  • Stephen Machin
  • Stephen Wood

Abstract

The authors use British workplace data for 1980–98 to examine whether increased human resource management (HRM) practices coincided with union decline, consistent with the hypothesis that such practices act as a substitute for unionization. Two initial analyses show no important differences between union and non-union sectors or between newer workplaces (which are likelier to be non-union) and older ones in the pattern of HRM practices over time; and the study's longitudinal analysis picks up no evidence of faster union decline in workplaces or industries that adopted HRM practices than in those that did not. Not only is the hypothesized substitution effect thus not supported, but the authors even uncover some evidence of a complementarity between unions and HRM practices. The authors conclude that increased use of HRM practices is probably not an important factor underpinning union decline in Britain.

Suggested Citation

  • Stephen Machin & Stephen Wood, 2005. "Human Resource Management as a Substitute for Trade Unions in British Workplaces," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 58(2), pages 201-218, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ilrrev:v:58:y:2005:i:2:p:201-218
    DOI: 10.1177/001979390505800202
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Richard Disney & Amanda Gosling & Stephen Machin, 1994. "British unions in decline: an examination of the 1980s fall in trade union recognition," IFS Working Papers W94/04, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
    2. Stephen Wood & Maria Teresa Albanese, 1995. "Can We Speak Of A High Commitment Management On The Shop Floor?," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(2), pages 215-247, March.
    3. David Guest & Neil Conway, 1999. "Peering into the Black Hole: The Downside of the New Employment Relations in the UK," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 37(3), pages 367-389, September.
    4. David Metcalf, 2001. "British Unions: Dissolution or Resurgence Revisited," CEP Discussion Papers dp0493, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    5. Metcalf, David, 2001. "British unions: dissolution or resurgence revisited," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 20124, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
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