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David Marsden's Comparative and Theoretical Craft: Signposts to a Better World of Work

Author

Listed:
  • Sarah Ashwin
  • Rafael Gomez
  • Patrice Laroche

Abstract

David Marsden enriched and extended the field of employment relations with his interdisciplinary and comparative practice. This introduction to the special issue honouring his work examines the nature of David's contribution and analyses his influence on employment relations and adjacent fields. The article highlights David's original engagement with the social science questions of his day, and his comparative craft, which entailed sensitivity to difference and a commitment to grounded, institutionally embedded analysis. Previewing the articles that make up this special issue, this introduction shows how David's work provides signposts to a better world of work.

Suggested Citation

  • Sarah Ashwin & Rafael Gomez & Patrice Laroche, 2026. "David Marsden's Comparative and Theoretical Craft: Signposts to a Better World of Work," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 64(1), pages 91-100, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:brjirl:v:64:y:2026:i:1:p:91-100
    DOI: 10.1111/bjir.70014
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. David Marsden, 2013. "Individual Voice in Employment Relationships: A Comparison under Different Forms of Workplace Representation," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52, pages 221-258, January.
    2. Oliver E. Williamson, 2000. "The New Institutional Economics: Taking Stock, Looking Ahead," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 38(3), pages 595-613, September.
    3. David Marsden, 2021. "Patterns of organizational ownership and employee well‐being in Britain," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 59(4), pages 988-1019, December.
    4. Marsden, David, 1999. "A Theory of Employment Systems: Micro-Foundations of Societal Diversity," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198294221.
    5. Stephen Dunn, 1990. "Root Metaphor in the Old and New Industrial Relations," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 28(1), pages 1-31, March.
    6. Doellgast, Virginia & Marsden, David, 2019. "Institutions as constraints and resources: explaining cross-national divergence in performance management," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 89978, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • R14 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Land Use Patterns
    • J01 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - Labor Economics: General
    • J50 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - General

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