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How Institutions and Business Strategies Affect Wages: A Cross-National Study of Call Centers

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  • Rosemary Batt
  • Hiroatsu Nohara

Abstract

This paper, drawing on a 2003–2006 establishment-level survey of 1,819 call centers in 15 countries, examines effects of industrial relations institutions and employer strategies on wage variation across coordinated, liberal, and emerging market economies. The authors find several contradictory patterns, which confirm theoretical predictions for some countries and contradict them for others, suggesting diverse institutional reactions to the emergence of a new economic activity. Consistent with prior research, Denmark, France, and Sweden exhibit patterns of low wage dispersion and no union wage premium, and the United States, Canada, and emerging market economies exhibit quite high levels of dispersion. Contrary to prior research, Austria and Germany resemble the United States in their levels of wage dispersion, while the United Kingdom resembles the coordinated market group. Finally, employer strategies of outsourcing and market segmentation explain within-country wage variation in most countries, suggesting considerable flexibility in wage setting at the establishment level.

Suggested Citation

  • Rosemary Batt & Hiroatsu Nohara, 2009. "How Institutions and Business Strategies Affect Wages: A Cross-National Study of Call Centers," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 62(4), pages 533-552, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ilrrev:v:62:y:2009:i:4:p:533-552
    DOI: 10.1177/001979390906200404
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Claudia WEINKOPF, 2009. "Job quality in call centres in Germany," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 148(4), pages 395-411, December.
    2. Daum, Mario & Holtgrewe, Ursula & Schörpf, Philip & Nocker, Matthias, 2018. "Call- und Service-Center: Konsolidierung der Kundenservice-Dienstleistungen," Working Paper Forschungsförderung 077, Hans-Böckler-Stiftung, Düsseldorf.
    3. Danielle D. van Jaarsveld & Yoshio Yanadori, 2011. "Compensation Management in Outsourced Service Organizations and Its Implications for Quit Rates, Absenteeism and Workforce Performance: Evidence from Canadian Call Centres," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 49(Supplemen), pages 1-26, June.
    4. Sean O'Brady & Virginia Doellgast & David Blatter, 2024. "The high costs of outsourcing: Vendor errors, customer mistreatment, and well‐being in call centers," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 63(1), pages 80-103, January.
    5. Bernhardt, Annette, 2014. "Labor Standards and the Reorganization of Work: Gaps in Data and Research," Institute for Research on Labor and Employment, Working Paper Series qt3hc6t3d5, Institute of Industrial Relations, UC Berkeley.
    6. Bernhardt, Annette & Batt, Rosemary & Houseman, Susan & Appelbaum, Eileen, 2016. "Domestic Outsourcing in the U.S.: A Research Agenda to Assess Trends and Effects on Job Quality," Institute for Research on Labor and Employment, Working Paper Series qt2fm4m444, Institute of Industrial Relations, UC Berkeley.
    7. Thierno Bah & Pierre Chaudat & Benoît Tine, 2013. "Les Conditions De Travail Dans Les Centres D'Appels Délocalisés Au Sénégal Et Leurs Répercussions Sur La Grh," Post-Print hal-01725841, HAL.
    8. Annette Bernhardt & Rosemary Batt & Susan Houseman & Eileen Appelbaum, 2016. "Working Paper: Domestic Outsourcing in the United States: A Research Agenda to Assess Trends and Effects on Job Quality," CEPR Reports and Issue Briefs 2016-03, Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR).
    9. Eileen Appelbaum, 2017. "Domestic Outsourcing, Rent Seeking, and Increasing Inequality," Review of Radical Political Economics, Union for Radical Political Economics, vol. 49(4), pages 513-528, December.
    10. Adam Seth Litwin & Phillip H. Phan, 2013. "Quality over Quantity: Reexamining the Link between Entrepreneurship and Job Creation," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 66(4), pages 833-873, July.
    11. Tony Edwards & Olga Tregaskis & David Collings & Patrice Jalette & Lourdes Susaeta, 2013. "Control over Employment Practice in Multinationals: Subsidiary Functions, Corporate Structures, and National Systems," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 66(3), pages 670-695, May.
    12. Annette Bernhardt & Rosemary L. Batt & Susan Houseman & Eileen Appelbaum, 2016. "Domestic Outsourcing in the United States: A Research Agenda to Assess Trends and Effects on Job Quality," Upjohn Working Papers 16-253, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.
    13. Rosemary Batt & Hiroatsu Nohara & Hyunji Kwon, 2010. "Employer Strategies and Wages in New Service Activities: A Comparison of Co‐ordinated and Liberal Market Economies," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 48(2), pages 400-435, June.

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