Papers by Steve J Frenkel
International Labour Review
Journal of Chinese Human Resources Management
Purpose This paper aims to analyse two ways in which Chinese workers attempt to resist unjust tre... more Purpose This paper aims to analyse two ways in which Chinese workers attempt to resist unjust treatment: exit through quitting and voice via collective action. This is in the context of rapid economic growth, rising economic inequality (Lu and Gao, 2011; Qin et al., 2009; Reed, 2012) and escalating industrial conflict (Pringle, 2011). Design/methodology/approach A model is developed and hypotheses formulated in the light of qualitative data analysis that included archival data, workplace observation and interviews with employees and managers at a large factory. A mediated chain model was tested based on a survey of 234 semi-skilled and skilled manual workers and 353 service employees employed in the same city in Western China. Findings Organisational identification and organisational cynicism were found to mediate the relationship between interactional justice and the two outcomes, intention to quit and collective opposition. Originality/value The authors’ interpretation of these re...
Human Resource Management Journal
This study adopts an identity perspective to explore the relationship between human resource (HR)... more This study adopts an identity perspective to explore the relationship between human resource (HR) practices and turnover intentions among migrant workers. Informed by HR attribution theory, we propose that the effects of HR practices will be more effective in reducing turnover among migrant workers when these workers have stronger post-migration place identities and when they experience a sense of justice regarding their work and nonwork environments. Using a three-way interaction model, we tested these ideas on a sample composed of 1,985 migrant workers in 141 firms in China. The results support the theoretical model.
Chinese Management Studies
Purpose Scholars have adopted different theoretical perspectives to explain the influence of HR p... more Purpose Scholars have adopted different theoretical perspectives to explain the influence of HR practice on employee outcomes. However, few studies have investigated the role of human resource (HR) practice in fostering higher in-role and extra-role employee performance by encouraging employee participation in job design, a process referred to as job crafting. Drawing on human resource management (HRM) process theory and the job crafting literature, this study aims to examine how work engagement and job crafting mediate the relationship between employee perceptions of HR practice and employee performance. Design/methodology/approach The authors use survey on a sample of 455 employees working in five Chinese manufacturing firms to test their theoretical model. Findings This study finds that where management maintains a strong HR system, employees are more likely to be engaged in their work and participate in job crafting. In addition, job crafting on its own, and work engagement and ...
Academy of Management Proceedings
Labour & Industry: a journal of the social and economic relations of work
ILR Review
This study examines reasons for variation in work design (defined by job discretion and performan... more This study examines reasons for variation in work design (defined by job discretion and performance monitoring) and how work design affects organizational outcomes. Drawing on a 2003–2006 survey of 2,359 call centers in 16 countries, the authors test strategic human resource management theory's implication that firms' strategic and operational contexts influence work design variation within countries, and “varieties of capitalism” theory's implication that national institutional frameworks influence cross-country differences in work design. Results of a multi-level analysis indicate that job discretion was higher and performance monitoring less frequent when management strategy targeted business customers rather than mass market customers; when there was an emphasis on building customer relationships; and when the setting was a coordinated economy. Regarding organizational outcomes, job discretion was negatively associated with quit rates and labor costs, while monitorin...
Global supply chain has increased as a way to enhance competitive advantages of multinational com... more Global supply chain has increased as a way to enhance competitive advantages of multinational companies (MNCs). It allowed MNCs to effectively utilize inexpensive labor in the third-world countries, however, this process of globalization is uneven and is contributing to sharper inequalities in income and wealth between countries. In this paper we examine the way a leading US-based, global apparel firm applies its labor code of practice to two prime contractors located in South Korea. We investigate the content of the code, the mechanisms used in implementing the code, and the way behavior associated with the code relates to ER more generally. We find evidence for relational contracting and high compliance by the two Korean contractor plants in regard to the global firm's code of labor practices. ER patterns in the plants are similar and related to implementation of the global firm's labor practices code. However, they are not completely uniform. This is explained by variations in workplace dependence on the global corporation and the history and current approaches of contractor management.
Http Dx Doi Org 10 1080 095851998340694, Feb 18, 2011
Call centres are a rapidly growing, IT-based channel for service and sales delivery, particularly... more Call centres are a rapidly growing, IT-based channel for service and sales delivery, particularly in the financial services and telecom industries. Although little research has been undertaken on the human resource aspects of call centres, two contrasting images are emerging. The first emphasizes the bureaucratic, constraining nature of these work settings, while the second image points towards worker empowerment characteristic of knowledge-intensive settings. Which of these two images more faithfully portrays the nature of work organization in call centres is the subject of our paper. Drawing on qualitative research undertaken in six call centres and a survey of frontline workers, we show that elements of both models coexist and that a hybrid model predominates. The theoretical basis for this contention, and its institutionalization as mass customized bureaucracy, lies in management's ongoing attempts to reconcile two conflicting principles: standardization of processes and customization of products. The paper also explores, as key consequences of mass customized bureaucracy, front-line workers' satisfaction with various facets of their job an'd their overall job satisfaction, in addition to discretionary work effort. Only in relation to job security and co-worker relations could front-line workers be considered satisfied. Overall, these employees were ambivalent in their responses. They were however more likely to give more discretionary work effort than indicated by their extent of satisfaction. We conclude that, although the existing pattern of work organization may be superior to more bureaucratic forms, it is by no means ideal from the standpoint of either front-line workers or management.
California Management Review, 2002
Compliance, ColSaboraitcin, i id Codes of Labor Practice. The adidos Connection of global firms a... more Compliance, ColSaboraitcin, i id Codes of Labor Practice. The adidos Connection of global firms and they only regulate firsi-iier exporters in particular sectors in developing countries. Codes may be narrow in scope, excluding issues of impor-tance to workers. Furthermore, they ...
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Papers by Steve J Frenkel