IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jbuset/v172y2021i1d10.1007_s10551-020-04498-1.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Between Morals and Markets? An Interdisciplinary Conceptual Framework for Studying Working Conditions at Catholic Social Service Providers in Belgium and Germany

Author

Listed:
  • Nadja Doerflinger

    (KU Leuven
    Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health)

  • Dries Bosschaert

    (KU Leuven)

  • Adeline Otto

    (KU Leuven)

  • Tim Opgenhaffen

    (KU Leuven)

  • Lander Vermeerbergen

    (KU Leuven)

Abstract

Despite sharing Catholic Social Teaching (CST) as their system of morals and both being confronted with marketisation pressures, working conditions at German and Belgian Catholic social service providers (CSSPs) of elderly care differ. We argue that an interdisciplinary approach is needed to understand such differences, as interpretation of CST is mediated by local contexts. Working conditions result from interactions shaped by each country’s respective religious, legal and socio-economic contexts, providing players with different levels of discretion and power resources. In Belgium, working conditions at Catholic elderly care providers tend to be better due to a strong Catholic trade union, encompassing labour market regulation and a universal legal system applying to all care providers. Moreover, there is strong interaction between these Catholic care providers and other Catholic institutions (“pillarisation”). By contrast, German CSSPs, operating as faith-based organisations with their own legal framework in a relatively liberalised and decentralised labour market, are able to use various flexibility practices which put pressure on working conditions. Using such practices is partially justified by the Catholic discourse on charity and altruism, stressing the particular nature of work in the Catholic care sector. Overall, the article demonstrates differences in the local application of CST. It also shows how transnational differences in working conditions at Catholic social service providers are the product of more than just local differences in the interpretation and application of CST principles, being shaped by interactions between a country’s specific religious, legal and socio-economic contexts.

Suggested Citation

  • Nadja Doerflinger & Dries Bosschaert & Adeline Otto & Tim Opgenhaffen & Lander Vermeerbergen, 2021. "Between Morals and Markets? An Interdisciplinary Conceptual Framework for Studying Working Conditions at Catholic Social Service Providers in Belgium and Germany," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 172(1), pages 15-29, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:172:y:2021:i:1:d:10.1007_s10551-020-04498-1
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-020-04498-1
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10551-020-04498-1
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10551-020-04498-1?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
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Nadja Doerflinger & Valeria Pulignano, 2015. "Temporary Agency Work and Trade Unions in Comparative Perspective," SAGE Open, , vol. 5(2), pages 21582440155, April.
    2. Annamaria Simonazzi, 2009. "Care regimes and national employment models," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 33(2), pages 211-232, March.
    3. Sison, Alejo José G. & Ferrero, Ignacio & Guitián, Gregorio, 2016. "Human Dignity and The Dignity of Work: Insights from Catholic Social Teaching," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 26(4), pages 503-528, October.
    4. Conrads, Ralph & Holler, Markus & Kistler, Ernst & Kühn, Daniel & Schneider, Daniela, 2016. "Branchenanalyse Gesundheits- und Sozialwesen," Working Paper Forschungsförderung 005, Hans-Böckler-Stiftung, Düsseldorf.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Dominik Aaken & Florian Buchner, 2020. "Religion and CSR: a systematic literature review," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 90(5), pages 917-945, June.
    2. Caleb Bernacchio, 2021. "Virtue Beyond Contract: A MacIntyrean Approach to Employee Rights," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 171(2), pages 227-240, June.
    3. Albertini,Marco, 2016. "Ageing and family solidarity in Europe : patterns and driving factors of intergenerational support," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7678, The World Bank.
    4. Alexander L. Janus & Alison Koslowski, 2020. "Whose responsibility? Elder support norms regarding the provision and financing of assistance with daily activities across economically developed countries," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 17(1), pages 95-108, March.
    5. Giuseppe Gabrielli & Anna Paterno & Michele Dezio, 2023. "Migrants’ characteristics, working and living conditions in the household services," RIEDS - Rivista Italiana di Economia, Demografia e Statistica - The Italian Journal of Economic, Demographic and Statistical Studies, SIEDS Societa' Italiana di Economia Demografia e Statistica, vol. 77(3), pages 59-69, July-Sept.
    6. Sandrine Frémeaux, 2020. "A Common Good Perspective on Diversity," Post-Print hal-03232779, HAL.
    7. Schulten, Thorsten & Seikel, Daniel, 2018. "Upgrading German public services: The role of trade union campaigns and collective bargaining with regard to working conditions in day care centres, primary education and hospitals," WSI Studies 12, The Institute of Economic and Social Research (WSI), Hans Böckler Foundation.
    8. Rie Miyazaki, 2019. "Migrant care workers and care-migration policies: a comparison between Italy and Japan," Asia Europe Journal, Springer, vol. 17(2), pages 161-177, June.
    9. Fiona Macdonald & Eleanor Bentham & Jenny Malone, 2018. "Wage theft, underpayment and unpaid work in marketised social care," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 29(1), pages 80-96, March.
    10. Marco Albertini & Emmanuele Pavolini, 2017. "Unequal Inequalities: The Stratification of the Use of Formal Care Among Older Europeans," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 72(3), pages 510-521.
    11. Sandrine Frémeaux & Anouk Grevin & Roberta Sferrazzo, 2023. "Developing a Culture of Solidarity Through a Three-Step Virtuous Process: Lessons from Common Good-Oriented Organizations," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 188(1), pages 89-105, November.
    12. Francesca Bettio & Giovanni Solinas, 2009. "Which European model for elderly care? Equity and cost-effectiveness in home based care in three European countries," Department of Economics 0609, University of Modena and Reggio E., Faculty of Economics "Marco Biagi".
    13. Fernández Fernández, José Luis & Camacho Ibáñez, Javier & Díaz de la Cruz, Cristina & Gil, Bernardo Villazán, 2021. "How can ‘orare et laborare’ guide the person-technology relationship during the Fourth Industrial Revolution?," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    14. Rania Antonopoulos & Kijong Kim & Thomas Masterson & Andajit Zacharias, 2010. "Why President Obama Should Care About 'Care': An Effective and Equitable Investment Strategy for Job Creation," Economics Public Policy Brief Archive ppb_108, Levy Economics Institute.
    15. Caroline Murphy & Thomas Turner, 2014. "Organising non-standard workers: union recruitment in the Irish care sector," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(5), pages 373-388, September.
    16. Björn Fischer & Britt Östlund & Nicole K. Dalmer & Andrea Rosales & Alexander Peine & Eugène Loos & Louis Neven & Barbara Marshall, 2021. "Co-Design as Learning: The Differences of Learning When Involving Older People in Digitalization in Four Countries," Societies, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-16, June.
    17. Frémeaux, Sandrine & Puyou, François-Régis & Michelson, Grant, 2020. "Beyond accountants as technocrats: A common good perspective," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 67.
    18. Floro Ernesto Caroleo & Francesco Pastore, 2009. "Le cause del(l') (in)successo lavorativo dei giovani," Economia & lavoro, Carocci editore, issue 3, pages 107-107.
    19. Sertan Kabadayi & Linda Alkire (née Nasr) & Garrett M. Broad & Reut Livne-Tarandach & David Wasieleski & Ann Marie Puente, 2019. "Humanistic Management of Social Innovation in Service (SIS): an Interdisciplinary Framework," Humanistic Management Journal, Springer, vol. 4(2), pages 159-185, December.
    20. Lehwess-Litzmann, René, 2022. "Frontline workers in education, health and welfare: how much do they earn in European countries? A comparative income analysis based on the EU-LFS," EconStor Preprints 268365, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.

    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:kap:jbuset:v:172:y:2021:i:1:d:10.1007_s10551-020-04498-1. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    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.