IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/eurjou/v30y2024i2p151-178.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Digitalization and employment relations in the retail sector. Examining the role of trade unions in Italy and Spain

Author

Listed:
  • Arianna Marcolin
  • Stefano Gasparri

Abstract

This article investigates trade union responses to in-store digitalization in retail in Italy and Spain. It considers critical issues often associated with the digital transformation of work including excessive work flexibility, high levels of monitoring and skills mismatch. It goes on to discuss two alternative employment relations developments: a ‘low road’, along which digitalization enhances market regulation and employers’ ability to control the workforce unilaterally; or a ‘high road’, where digitalization allows for better working conditions as well as business productivity. Drawing on documentary analysis, semi-structured interviews with trade union leaders, and content analysis of collective agreements signed at the sector, territorial and company level, findings report how Italian and Spanish trade unions attempt to use in-store digitalization to increase their leverage and aim for the high road. Overall, this work confirms the challenges of deterring the retail sector from pursuing the low road while highlighting some institutional factors and trade union strategies that can make the difference.

Suggested Citation

  • Arianna Marcolin & Stefano Gasparri, 2024. "Digitalization and employment relations in the retail sector. Examining the role of trade unions in Italy and Spain," European Journal of Industrial Relations, , vol. 30(2), pages 151-178, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:eurjou:v:30:y:2024:i:2:p:151-178
    DOI: 10.1177/09596801231213809
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/09596801231213809
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/09596801231213809?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
    ---><---

    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:sae:eurjou:v:30:y:2024:i:2:p:151-178. 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.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using 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: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    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.