IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/indrel/v50y2019i2p126-149.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Explaining variation in the social performance of lean production: a comparative case study of the role played by workplace unions' framing of the system and institutions

Author

Listed:
  • Andrea Signoretti

Abstract

Several studies have acknowledged that lean production is implemented in diverse ways across workplaces, thereby generating different outcomes for workers. However, explanations for this variability needs further development. The present article addresses this issue by considering the role played by workplace unions' framing of lean production. It finds that unions' framing is derived from their identities in interaction with available resources in institutional and organisational terms. A case study comparison of the automotive parts industry in Italy and the United States was conducted.

Suggested Citation

  • Andrea Signoretti, 2019. "Explaining variation in the social performance of lean production: a comparative case study of the role played by workplace unions' framing of the system and institutions," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(2), pages 126-149, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:bla:indrel:v:50:y:2019:i:2:p:126-149
    DOI: 10.1111/irj.12244
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/irj.12244
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/irj.12244?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Susan Helper & Mari Sako, 2010. "Management innovation in supply chain: appreciating Chandler in the twenty-first century," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 19(2), pages 399-429, April.
    2. Virginia Doellgast, 2010. "Collective Voice under Decentralized Bargaining: A Comparative Study of Work Reorganization in US and German Call Centres," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 48(2), pages 375-399, June.
    3. Josh Whitford & Aldo Enrietti, 2005. "Surviving the Fall of a King: The Regional Institutional Implications of Crisis at Fiat Auto," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(4), pages 771-795, December.
    4. Richard M. Locke, 1992. "The Demise of the National Union in Italy: Lessons for Comparative Industrial Relations Theory," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 45(2), pages 229-249, January.
    5. Paul S. Adler & Barbara Goldoftas & David I. Levine, 1997. "Ergonomics, Employee Involvement, and the Toyota Production System: A Case Study of Nummi'S 1993 Model Introduction," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 50(3), pages 416-437, April.
    6. John Godard, 2009. "The Exceptional Decline of the American Labor Movement," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 63(1), pages 82-108, October.
    7. Susan Helper & Janet Kiehl, 2004. "Developing Supplier Capabilities: Market and Non-market Approaches," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 11(1-2), pages 89-107.
    8. Paul S. Adler, 2012. "PERSPECTIVE—The Sociological Ambivalence of Bureaucracy: From Weber via Gouldner to Marx," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 23(1), pages 244-266, February.
    9. John Geary & Aurora Trif, 2011. "Workplace Partnership and the Balance of Advantage: A Critical Case Analysis," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 49(Supplemen), pages 44-69, June.
    10. Marco Hauptmeier, 2012. "Institutions Are What Actors Make of Them — The Changing Construction of Firm-Level Employment Relations in Spain," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 50(4), pages 737-759, December.
    11. Thomas A. Kochan, 2012. "Collective bargaining: crisis and its consequences for American society," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(4), pages 302-316, July.
    12. D'Amuri, Francesco & Giorgiantonio, Cristina, 2015. "The Institutional and Economic Limits to Bargaining Decentralization in Italy," IZA Policy Papers 98, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    13. Gregor Bouville & David Alis, 2014. "The effects of lean organizational practices on employees' attitudes and workers' health: evidence from France," Post-Print halshs-01104687, HAL.
    14. Virginia Doellgast & Ian Greer, 2007. "Vertical Disintegration and the Disorganization of German Industrial Relations1," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 45(1), pages 55-76, March.
    15. John Godard, 2004. "A Critical Assessment of the High‐Performance Paradigm," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 42(2), pages 349-378, June.
    16. repec:dau:papers:123456789/14113 is not listed on IDEAS
    17. 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.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Andrea Signoretti & Silvia Sacchetti, 2020. "Lean HRM practices in work integration social enterprises: Moving towards social lean production. Evidence from Italian case studies," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 91(4), pages 545-563, December.
    2. John Geary & Andrea Signoretti, 2022. "The role of socio-economic embeddedness in promoting cooperation in the workplace: Evidence from family-owned Italian firms," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 43(4), pages 1867-1890, November.
    3. Pauline Stanton & Timothy Bartram & Greg J. Bamber, 2022. "The role of nurses' unions in workplace innovation in Australian and Canadian hospitals: Analysing union strategies," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(5), pages 484-500, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. John Geary & Andrea Signoretti, 2022. "The role of socio-economic embeddedness in promoting cooperation in the workplace: Evidence from family-owned Italian firms," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 43(4), pages 1867-1890, November.
    2. Nick Krachler & Jennie Auffenberg & Luigi Wolf, 2021. "The Role of Organizational Factors in Mobilizing Professionals: Evidence from Nurse Unions in the United States and Germany," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 59(3), pages 643-668, September.
    3. Ian Greer & Thorsten Schulten & Nils Böhlke, 2013. "How Does Market Making Affect Industrial Relations? Evidence from Eight German Hospitals," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 51(2), pages 215-239, June.
    4. Marco Hauptmeier, 2012. "Institutions Are What Actors Make of Them — The Changing Construction of Firm-Level Employment Relations in Spain," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 50(4), pages 737-759, December.
    5. Catherine Casey & Helen Delaney, 2022. "The effort of partnership: Capacity development and moral capital in partnership for mutual gains," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 43(1), pages 52-71, February.
    6. Jae Eun Lee & Rosemary Batt & Lisa M. Moynihan, 2019. "Strategic Dilemmas: How Managers Use HR Practices to Meet Multiple Goals," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 57(3), pages 513-539, September.
    7. Nick Krachler, 2023. "Institutional support for new work roles: The case of care coordinators in the United States and England," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 61(4), pages 951-974, December.
    8. Chiara Benassi, 2016. "Liberalization Only at the Margins? Analysing the Growth of Temporary Work in German Core Manufacturing Sectors," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 54(3), pages 597-622, September.
    9. Andrea Signoretti & Silvia Sacchetti, 2020. "Lean HRM practices in work integration social enterprises: Moving towards social lean production. Evidence from Italian case studies," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 91(4), pages 545-563, December.
    10. Godard, John & Frege, Carola M., 2014. "Worker perceptions of representation and rights in Germany and the USA," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 56527, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    11. Jaren Haber, 2016. "Institutionalized Involvement: Teams and Stress in 1990s U.S. Steel," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(4), pages 632-661, October.
    12. Colm McLaughlin & Chris F. Wright, 2018. "The Role of Ideas in Understanding Industrial Relations Policy Change in Liberal Market Economies," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 57(4), pages 568-610, October.
    13. Andrea Signoretti, 2021. "Workplace processes and employment opportunities for vulnerable social groups," European Journal of Industrial Relations, , vol. 27(1), pages 77-92, March.
    14. Xiangmin Liu & Danielle D. van Jaarsveld & Yoshio Yanadori, 2022. "Customer aggression, employee voice and quit rates: Evidence from the frontline service workforce," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 60(2), pages 348-370, June.
    15. Ines Wagner, 2015. "The Political Economy of Borders in a 'Borderless' European Labour Market," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(6), pages 1370-1385, November.
    16. Baldwin, Carliss Y. & Bogers, Marcel L.A.M. & Kapoor, Rahul & West, Joel, 2024. "Focusing the ecosystem lens on innovation studies," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(3).
    17. Ariel C. Avgar & Niti Pandey & Kiwook Kwon, 2012. "Discretion in Context: A Moderated Mediation Model of the Relationship between Discretion and Turnover Intentions," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(1), pages 106-128, January.
    18. Alex Bryson & Lucy Stokes & David Wilkinson, 2023. "Is pupil attainment higher in well-managed schools?," Education Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(1), pages 129-144, January.
    19. Giovanni Costa & Arnaldo Camuffo, 2014. "The evolution of human resource management in Italy: a historical-institutional perspective," Chapters, in: Bruce E. Kaufman (ed.), The Development of Human Resource Management Across Nations, chapter 11, pages 269-299, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    20. Maddy Janssens & Chris Steyaert, 2009. "HRM and Performance: A Plea for Reflexivity in HRM Studies," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(1), pages 143-155, January.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:indrel:v:50:y:2019:i:2:p:126-149. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0019-8692 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.