Showing papers on "Industrial relations published in 2015"
TL;DR: In this paper, a multidisciplinary review of the academic research on employee voice is presented, which identifies opportunities to incorporate the alternate disciplinary perspective and proposes a conceptual model, which addresses the blind spots in each discipline.
Abstract: Employee voice has been studied across a diverse range of disciplines, generating an extensive body of literature on the topic. However, its conceptualization across the disciplines has differed, resulting in a lack of integrative theories and frameworks on employee voice. The main objective of this paper is to conduct a multidisciplinary review of the academic research on employee voice, to show where there is an opportunity to adopt and adapt the findings and research on employee voice within alternate disciplines, and to demonstrate how this may lead to more common ground in the conceptualization of employee voice. This review focuses on an analysis of the Human Resource Management/Employment Relations and Organizational Behaviour disciplines' conceptualization of employee voice, beginning with the identification of where the disciplines diverged in their concept and study of employee voice. Further, it maps their similarities and differences, on the basis of motive, content, mechanism, target and management of voice. Finally, it identifies opportunities to incorporate the alternate disciplinary perspective and proposes a conceptual model, which addresses the blind spots in each discipline. It is proposed that the consideration of formal and informal employee voice in future studies will enable the better integration of voice research.
238 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined how complementary capacities of production and consumption actors generated coalitional power and contributed to creating the Accord for Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, making it binding and convincing more than 180 brand name companies to sign up.
Abstract: Global labour governance has typically been approached from either industrial relations scholars focusing on the role of organised labour or social movement scholars focusing on the role of social movement organisations in mobilising consumption power. Yet, little work has focused on the interaction of the two. Using an exploratory case study of the governance response to the 2013 Rana Plaza disaster, this article examines how complementary capacities of production- and consumption-based actors generated coalitional power and contributed to creating the ‘Accord for Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh’, making it binding and convincing more than 180 brandname companies to sign up. The research has implications for understanding how the interface between production and consumption actors may provide leverage to improve labour standards in global supply chains.
173 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explored the relationship between employee trust of managers and workplace performance and found a positive relationship between three measures of workplace performance (financial performance, labour productivity and product or service quality) and average employee trust at both pre- and post-recessionary periods.
Abstract: We explore the relationship between employee trust of managers and workplace performance. We present a theoretical framework which serves to establish a link between employee trust and firm performance as well as to identify possible mechanisms through which the relationship may operate. We then analyse matched workplace and employee data in order to ascertain whether the average level of employee trust within the workplace influences workplace performance. We exploit the 2004 and 2011 Workplace Employment Relations Surveys (WERS) to analyse the role of average employee trust in influencing workplace performance in both pre- and post-recessionary periods. Our empirical findings support a positive relationship between three measures of workplace performance (financial performance, labour productivity and product or service quality) and average employee trust at both points in time. Moreover, this relationship holds when we jointly model average employee trust and firm performance in an instrumental variable framework in order to take into account the potential endogeneity of employee trust. We then exploit employee level data from the WERS to ascertain how individual level trust of the employee (rather than the average within the workplace) is influenced by measures taken by employers to deal with the recent recession. Our findings suggest that restricting paid overtime and access to training potentially erode employee trust. In addition, we find that job or work reorganisation experienced at either the employee or organisation level is associated with lower employee trust.
159 citations
Book•
05 Aug 2015
TL;DR: The Dynamics of Managing Diversity as discussed by the authors is one of the first books to respond to growing academic coverage of the topic of diversity management at degree level and has been updated to reflect new working practice, statistical information and equality and diversity law, as well as including new case studies and information on International policies outside the UK and Europe.
Abstract: For anyone looking to develop a career in HR or business management, understanding the contexts, policies and practices for developing a sustainable and high performing, diverse workforce is a must. The Dynamics of Managing Diversity was one of the first books to respond to growing academic coverage of the topic of diversity management at degree level. This third edition has been fully updated to reflect new working practice, statistical information and equality and diversity law, as well as including new case studies and information on International policies outside the UK and Europe. Diversity management is a term that covers not only race, disability and sex discrimination, but also broader issues such as individual and cultural differences. The Dynamics of Managing Diversity, third edition, can help to prepare HR and business managers of the future with the legal information and research findings to enable them to develop meaningful diversity policies in their organizations. With: • Accessible text including key learning points, activities and discussion questions • Practical case studies to illustrate the real-life issues in a local, international and organizational context • A new companion and lecturer website, featuring tutor support materials and links to useful sites and additional information Kirton and Greene present the subject of diversity management in a logical and structured manner, beginning each chapter with aims and objectives, and ending with discussion questions. This is the perfect support resource for those teaching or studying in the field of equality and diversity. Gill Kirton, Reader in Employment Relations at the School of Business and Management, Queen Mary, University of London and licentiate member of the CIPD. Anne-marie Greene, Reader in Industrial Relations in the Industrial Relations and Organisational Behaviour Group, Warwick Business School, graduate member of the CIPD. Related Titles Moran et al., Managing Cultural Differences, ISBN: 9780750682473 Holbeche, HR Leadership, ISBN: 9780750681735
133 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that the intersectional approach contains an important caution against over-generalization that has been obscured, and that separating the challenge for all academics to be more intersectionally sensitive from the methodological challenges of taking an intersectionality approach brings the significance of intersectionality into sharper relief.
Abstract: Intersectional analysis has been developing since its emergence from critical race feminism in the 1980s when it was used to conceptualize the inter-relationship of race and gender and, particularly, the experiences of discrimination and marginalization of black women in employment. While its contribution has been much debated within sociological and gender specific journals, its use still remains relatively limited within studies of work and employment relations. It is argued here that this field of study would benefit from greater engagement with and understanding of an intersectional approach to both the design and interpretation of research. Two lines of reasoning are put forward for this contention: firstly, that the intersectional approach contains an important caution against over-generalization that has been obscured; secondly, that separating the challenge for all academics to be more intersectionally sensitive from the methodological challenges of taking an intersectional approach brings the significance of intersectionality into sharper relief.
132 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present an enlarged model of employee voice that not only includes OB but also brings in important contributions from the HRM, industrial relations, labour economics and labour process fields.
Abstract: This article critiques organisational behaviour (OB) research on employee voice and presents a broader-based conceptual model that integrates ideas and concepts across employment relationship disciplines and levels of analysis. OB studies err by taking an overly individualistic, psychological, managerialist and de-institutionalised perspective on employee voice. This criticism is documented and illustrated with numerous examples from the OB literature. To provide a constructive step forward, the article presents an enlarged model of employee voice that not only includes OB but also brings in important contributions from the HRM, industrial relations, labour economics and labour process fields. The model provides an integrative framework for theoretical and empirical studies of voice and yields a number of research and practice implications.
121 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine how well industrial relations meta-theories, when combined with efforts to build middle-range theories, provide distinctive explanations and different predictions for the alternatives that have emerged to date to fill the void.
Abstract: The widespread decline of trade unions and the emergence of various alternative forms of worker voice and representation have posed a challenge to the field of industrial relations and generated significant rethinking of the future directions for this field of study. In this article, we examine how well industrial relations meta-theories, when combined with efforts to build middle-range theories, provide distinctive explanations and different predictions for the alternatives that have emerged to date to fill the void. We propose new directions for theory and research that expand the range of actors or institutions that shape employment relations and include social identities outside of the employment relationship as the basis for mobilizing collective actions and voice. Finally, we suggest using these theoretical arguments to test among alternatives as a means of revitalizing and reshaping industrial relations as well as carrying forward the problem-solving norms that have characterized the field since its inception.
90 citations
TL;DR: This article examined the relation between employee welfare practices and corporate cash holdings and found that firms that are strongly committed to employee well-being, measured by ratings on employee relations, to hold more cash.
87 citations
80 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors provide an overview of the most important trends in work and employment over the past 50 years, including women empowerment, flexibilisation, fragmentation, and financialisation.
Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the most important trends in work and employment over the past 50 years. Design/methodology/approach – The paper adopted the 50-year perspective in line with the celebration of Manchester Industrial Relations Society’s 50th anniversary. The approach adopted was to include both observable changes in work and employment and changes in the perspectives found in published research. Findings – The key trends identified were feminisation, flexibilisation, fragmentation and financialisation. These were the outcome of, on the one hand, global trends towards services, transnationalisation and transformative technologies and, on the other hand, of political choices to deregulate, decollectivise and depoliticise the employment relationship. Originality/value – The value lies in exploring the key trends in the world of work over a significant period of time, identifying the drivers behind the changes and reflecting on the implications for future prospec...
71 citations
TL;DR: The authors revisited the comparative approach used by Penninx and Roosblad (Trade Unions, Immigration and Immigrants in Europe, 1960-1993) to study trade unions' attitudes and actions in relation to immigrant workers in seven Western European countries.
Abstract: This paper revisits the comparative approach used by Penninx and Roosblad (Trade Unions, Immigration and Immigrants in Europe, 1960-1993. New York: Berghahn Books) to study trade unions’ attitudes and actions in relation to immigrant workers in seven Western European countries. It reassesses that approach and asks whether it remains valid, as economic, social, and political circumstances nowadays seem fundamentally different from those two to five decades ago. Each element of the original conceptual and explanatory frame is reassessed and its suitability weighed for an updated comparative study. The reassessment combines insights from migration studies with findings from the field of industrial relations. The latter highlight internal union variables in explaining trade unions’ attitudes and actions, while the former underline trade unions’ role as social and political actors in defending migrant rights.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors claim that changes in labour market institutions play a major role, but changes in industrial relations at the sectoral level and individual firms' staffing practices are equally important.
Abstract: Most Continental European labour markets and welfare states have experienced a substantial transformation. Germany is a case in point as it exhibits increasing levels of employment and a growing share of low pay and non-standard work. The article claims that changes in labour market institutions play a major role, but changes in industrial relations at the sectoral level and individual firms' staffing practices are equally important. Regarding labour market institutions, the pattern found in Germany shows sequences of reforms addressing the margins of the labour market and contributing to a growing dualization of employment. This dualization trend was reinforced by micro-level dynamics in industrial relations and company employment practices, where we can observe growing reliance on mechanisms of internal flexibility for the skilled core workforce and increasing use of non-standard types of employment in less specifically skilled occupations, in particular in the private service sector. Hence, the adjustment of the German model can only be understood by taking into account the interaction of policy change and actors' adaptive behaviour.
TL;DR: In this article, the micro-level rule enactment of the posting of workers framework in the German construction sector is analyzed and the authors examine how actors draw on different power resources in order to influence policies without formal negotiation within transnational workspaces and thereby initiate institutional change.
Abstract: This article analyses the micro-level rule enactment of the posting of workers framework in the German construction sector. I examine how actors draw on different power resources in order to influence policies without formal negotiation within transnational workspaces and thereby initiate institutional change. Drawing on interviews with posted workers, managers, unionists, works councillors and labour inspectors I show how transnational subcontracting allows the emergence of different regulatory spaces at national and workplace level. The article concludes that the informal renegotiation of employment relations in transnational workspaces is likely to destabilize the posting framework negotiated at policy level.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that China is taking an experimental and decentralized approach to the development of new labor relations frameworks, and note some countervailing tendencies towards re-centralization, but emphasize that this phenomenon remains largely confined to the municipal level.
Abstract: In this introduction to the special issue ‘Changing work, labour and employment relations in China’, we argue that China is taking an experimental and decentralized approach to the development of new labor relations frameworks. Particular political constraints in China prevent interest aggregation among workers, as the central state sees this as posing a risk to social stability. Firms and local governments have been given a degree of space to experiment with different arrangements, as long as the categorical ban on independent unions is not violated. The consequence has been an increasingly differentiated labor relations landscape, with significant variation by region and sector. We note some countervailing tendencies towards re-centralization, but emphasize that this phenomenon remains largely confined to the municipal level. The five articles in this special issue address different aspects of both experimentation and decentralization in labor relations.
Journal Article•
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors discuss the problem of false self-employment and other precarious forms of employment in the grey area between genuine self-employee and subordinate employment in Sweden, and show that work in this grey area has become more and more common not only in the context of east-west labour migration, but also among Swedish workers.
Abstract: The aim of this article is to discuss the problem of false (bogus) self-employment and other precarious forms of employment in the ‘grey area’ between genuine self-employment and subordinate employment in Sweden. Why has this area developed in a longer and shorter perspective? How does the use of disguised and ambiguous forms of employment affect workers, industrial relations and regular labour standards? Examples are given from the construction, road haulage and cleaning industries. The article indicates that work in the grey area has become more and more common in recent years, not only in the context of east-west labour migration, but also among Swedish workers. The author also discusses this development.
TL;DR: In this paper, the impact of financialization on workers bargaining power and employment protection legislation in 16 OECD countries from 1970 to 2009 was investigated using panel data models, and the main results point out that increased financialization is associated with a reduction in workers' bargaining power.
Abstract: This article focuses on the impact of the process of financialization on two central labor market institutions, workers’ bargaining power and employment protection legislation, in 16 OECD countries from 1970 to 2009. Financialization is described as a finance-led regime of accumulation and as the emergence of a shareholder value maximization strategy. Using various mechanisms at the micro and macro levels, empirical work has investigated the relationship between the type of financial relations and the agents’ capacities of maintaining strong encompassing labor market institutions. I argue that the process of financialization will exert strong pressures on labor markets toward more eroded/decentralized bargaining institutions and more flexible employment relations. This article proposes an updated indicator of workers’ bargaining power and various measures of financialization. Using panel data models, our main results point out that increased financialization is clearly associated with a reduction in workers’ bargaining power and in the strictness of employment protection.
TL;DR: Using recent life history data from Japan, the authors found that men working in non-regular jobs are especially likely to postpone marriage and the implications of the growth of precarious work for changes in work and family institutions in Japan are discussed.
Abstract: Employment has become increasingly precarious in developed countries, meaning that, for many young adults, jobs provide neither benefits nor security, more work is part time, and employers are increasingly hiring workers from temporary help agencies and contract companies rather than as employees of their own company. These changes in employment relations have profound effects on gender roles and on family transitions of young adults, especially young men and in particular in countries such as Japan, where there are rigid family norms and the male-breadwinner tradition still prevails. The authors examined the effects of the experience of non-regular work on the timing of marriage and whether this differs by sex. Using recent life history data from Japan, they found that men working in non-regular jobs are especially likely to postpone marriage. The implications of the growth of precarious work for changes in work and family institutions in Japan are discussed.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors combine case studies and comparative writing to illustrate how and why alternative occupational employment patterns are formed through expert contributions, a framework is developed integrating explanations based on labour market regulation, industrial relations and skill supply.
Abstract: Examining the occupational variation within non-standard employment, this book combines case studies and comparative writing to illustrate how and why alternative occupational employment patterns are formed. Through expert contributions, a framework is developed integrating explanations based on labour market regulation, industrial relations and skill supply, filling the gaps in previous scholastic research.
TL;DR: In this article, competence development practices for blue-collar workers in automobile companies in China are examined, and different theoretical explanations for the competence development approaches are discussed: human capital theory, high-commitment work systems theory, production systems theories, industrial relations and institutionalist theories.
Abstract: Industrial upgrading in China is rapidly increasing the competence requirements for employees on the shop floor. The institutional environment in China, however, does not seem very supportive: the quality of vocational education is often low and Chinese labor law provides strong incentives for companies to use temporary labor. This paper examines the competence development practices for blue-collar workers in automobile companies in China. Against expectations, automobile companies in China do not pursue ‘low road’ strategies but have designed intensive internal training programs and long-term career paths for blue-collar workers. Different theoretical explanations for the competence development approaches are discussed: human capital theory, high-commitment work systems theory, production systems theories, industrial relations and institutionalist theories. The paper is based on qualitative case studies of German, Japanese and domestic automobile manufacturers in China.
Abstract: Academics have long investigated trade union behaviour through the complex interaction of identity, ideology and purpose. At the same time, there have been increasing calls to gain a deeper understanding of the purpose of strategies but the two bodies of literature seldom overlap. The article proposes a framework to help understand the essence of trade unions and to situate strategies (such as organizing) in this broader context and bridge the gap between the literature on union purpose and identity and on strategies for renewal. It is argued that the essence of unions framework can assist with the analysis of both historical and contemporary trade unionism and allows both clarification and consideration of the range of concepts and terms already in use in the industrial relations literature.
TL;DR: In this paper, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank programs have been investigated for the effect of collective labor rights on labor laws and the actual labor practices of recipient countries.
Abstract: What effect do International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank programs have on collective labor rights? Labor rights advocacy networks and organized labor groups have long been critical of neoliberal policy prescriptions attached to loans by international financial institutions (IFIs), claiming that they harm the interests of workers. IFIs dispute these claims, noting that they work with relevant labor organizations and that many of their arrangements call for compliance with core labor standards. Yet very little research has been devoted to whether IFI programs affect labor laws and the actual labor practices of recipient countries. We argue that IFI programs undermine collective labor rights. Specifically, recommended policy reforms, as well as the broader signals connoted by participation in the programs, undermine labor organizations and the adoption of protective laws. To substantiate these claims, we use time-series cross-national data for a sample of 123 low- and middle-income countries for the y...
TL;DR: This article explored the brand as an internal organizational resource sustaining the process of employee meaning-making activities, and found that employees are encouraged to internalize particular brand meanings (in this case prestige, success and quality) as a palliative to cope with mundane work.
Abstract: Brand scholarship traditionally resides within the marketing literature and focuses on organizations’ external relationships with customers. However, increasing critical attention in organization studies has focused on the brand in order to understand its impact on the internal dynamics of employment relations in contemporary organizations. Drawing on an ethnography of frontline service work in an IT consultancy call centre, we explore the brand as an internal organizational resource sustaining the process of employee meaning-making activities. Documenting the ‘work of the brand’, we outline what the brand offers both employees and employers and, in doing so, we theorize the brand at work as a connecting mechanism between processes of identity formation/re-formation and regulation. While employees are encouraged to internalize particular brand meanings (in this case prestige, success and quality), we found that they often willingly buy into these intended brand meanings as a palliative to ‘cope’ with mundane work. In this way brand meanings are central to producing a self-disciplining form of employee subjectivity.
TL;DR: The authors examined the relationship between contemporary employment arrangements and the work-related well-being of European employees by means of a Latent Class Cluster Analysis, several features of the employment conditions and relations characterizing jobs are combined in a typology of five employment arrangements: SER-like, instrumental, precarious unsustainable, precarious intensive and portfolio jobs.
TL;DR: The results show that informal employment is a significant factor in social health inequalities among Central American workers, which could be diminished by policies aimed at increasing social security coverage.
Abstract: Background: Informal employment is assumed to be an important but seldom studied social determinant of health, affecting a large number of workers around the world. Although informal employment arrangements constitute a permanent, structural pillar of many labor markets in low- and middle-income countries, studies about its relationship with health status are still scarce. In Central America more than 60 % of non-agricultural workers have informal employment. Therefore, we aimed to assess differences in self-perceived and mental health status of Central Americans with different patterns of informal and formal employment. Methods: Employment profiles were created by combining employment relations (employees, self-employed, employers), social security coverage (yes/no) and type of contract -only for employees- (written, oral, none), in a cross-sectional study of 8,823 non-agricultural workers based on the I Central American Survey of Working Conditions and Health of 2011. Using logistic regression models, adjusted odds ratios (aOR) by country, age and occupation, of poor self-perceived and mental health were calculated by sex. Different models were first fitted separately for the three dimensions of employment conditions, then for employment profiles as independent variables. Results: Poor self-perceived health was reported by 34 % of women and 27 % of men, and 30 % of women and 26 % of men reported poor mental health. Lack of social security coverage was associated with poor self-perceived health (women, aOR: 1.38, 95 % CI: 1.13-1.67; men, aOR: 1.36, 95 % CI: 1.13-1.63). Almost all employment profiles with no social security coverage were significantly associated with poor self-perceived and poor mental health in both sexes. Conclusions: Our results show that informal employment is a significant factor in social health inequalities among Central American workers, which could be diminished by policies aimed at increasing social security coverage.
TL;DR: In this article, a comparative analysis of minimum wage and collective wage bargaining in Belgium, France, Germany, Sweden and the United Kingdom is presented, with particular emphasis on participative standards to counter the erosion of industrial relations institutions.
Abstract: Wage-setting institutions can play a crucial part in containing the socio-economically destabilizing growth of income inequality. Using an analytical framework that distinguishes between protective and participative standards, the author examines their respective effects on the incidence of low-paid employment and income inequality under the wage-setting systems of Belgium, France, Germany, Sweden and the United Kingdom. His comparative focus on the interplay of statutory minimum wages and collective wage bargaining shows that while the latter is more effective than the former at reducing inequality, both require state intervention, with particular emphasis on participative standards to counter the erosion of industrial relations institutions.
Book•
15 Oct 2015
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors make three main contributions to our understanding of informal work in China: they document diversity in employment relations and the labor market, and they expand their understanding of China's emerging labor regime, which is central to labor control, intimately related to the urbanization process, and ultimately linked to China's overall economic success.
Abstract: Excerpt] This book makes three main contributions to our understanding of informal work in China. First, it documents diversity in employment relations and the labor market. This diversity exists in spite of the fact that all of these workers are similar: they are all men who are unregistered migrants working informally in the construction industry in major cities in China. This book helps us make sense of that diversity and the diversity of informal precarious work more generally. Second, it expands our understanding of China’s emerging labor regime, which is central to labor control, intimately related to the urbanization process, and ultimately linked to China’s overall economic success. Finally, it shows how these migrants struggle against the disciplining process, contest exploitation, and protest in unique ways. Just as with other workers toiling under capitalism, important structural forces shape their work and lives but are not deterministic. Thus, this large, emerging segment of workers should not be overlooked when analyzing the complexities of class and class politics in China.
TL;DR: A review of employee participation research published in Work, Employment and Society over the last few decades can be found in this paper, where the authors provide an overarching review of the literature.
Abstract: This e-special issue showcases employee participation research published in Work, Employment and Society over the last few decades. The editorial introduction provides an overarching review of the ...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors adopt the perspective of socio-emotional wealth to compare the CSR performance of family and non-family firms, and find that overall socio emotional wealth (measured by majority ownership and the ratio of independent directors on the board) is positively associated with corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance.
Abstract: What are the impacts of socio-emotional wealth on the corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance of family firms? Using panel data (2007–2012) of publicly listed firms in Taiwan, this research adopts the perspective of socio-emotional wealth to compare the CSR performance of family and non-family firms. We found that overall socio-emotional wealth (measured by majority ownership and the ratio of independent directors on the board) is positively associated with CSR performance, and family ventures out-perform non-family firms. Theoretical, managerial and policy-making implications are provided.
Dissertation•
01 Jan 2015
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explored the implications of power in relation to the psychological contract by exploring these power dynamics in the relationship between employees and employer and highlighted the complex interdependencies and the associated workplace struggles characterizing the employment relationship.
Abstract: This thesis explores the implications of power in relation to the psychological contract. The majority of the psychological contract literature, because of its underpinning assumptions of mutuality and reciprocity, largely downplays the dynamics of power in the employment relationship. The key objective of the current study therefore is to make further empirical and theoretical developments in relation to the psychological contract by exploring these power dynamics in the relationship between employees and employer. Concerning power, the complex interdependencies and the associated workplace struggles characterizing the employment relationship between employees and the different representatives of the organization are investigated.
From an empirical perspective, the research contributes in a twofold manner as the results not only highlight the complex interdependencies and the workplace struggles in the employment relationship but also offer new knowledge about work and management in Pakistan. This context of employment relations based on underlying power dynamics that are embedded into the complex and interdependent relationships between employees and organizational representatives is globally significant in terms of workplace research, yet generally neglected in the relevant studies.
The current study has a qualitative orientation and follows a critical realist research philosophy. Using data collected from 43 interviewees in three call centre organizations, the research additionally makes a theoretical contribution to the psychological contract from the perspectives of mutuality, reciprocity and agency. The results illustrate that, in comparison to mutuality and reciprocity, interdependence and negotiation play a critical role in the psychological contracts of employees. Largely acknowledging the implications of power dynamics, these concepts highlight that employees, based on their perceptions of interdependence (rather than mutuality) in the employment relationships, tend to focus primarily on negotiation (rather than reciprocation) in their psychological contracts with employers.
Concerning agency, different classifications of human agents are highlighted (i.e. primary agents, secondary agents, multiple agents, incumbent agents). The current research extends the concept of agency beyond the boundary of human agents into the domain of the electronic agents of the organization. The results highlight that it is not only the perceived capability to reward or punish but also the perceived tendency to actively use that capability which significantly influences employees’ assumptions to consider particular organizational members as the agents of the organization. From the viewpoint of relational interdependence in the employment relationship, the efforts made by employees to decrease their dependence on employers and increase the employer’s dependence on them are illustrated. The research findings demonstrate that these efforts are largely motivated by the employees’ objective of promoting their bargaining power in employment relationship.