IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/indrel/v55y2024i2p100-118.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Never cross the red line? Analysing employment relations practices and the behaviour of front‐line managers in Chinese McDonald's stores

Author

Listed:
  • Wei Wei

Abstract

Based on a qualitative case study of McDonald's stores in China, this article examines the behaviour of front‐line managers (FLMs) in employment relations practices. The findings first identify different types of FLMs' behaviours, taking into account the degree of role conflict in their managerial work and the varying pressure to respond to corporate human resource management/employment relations (HRM/ERs) policies. Second, the findings illustrate that the behaviours of FLMs are also shaped by the external ER regulatory context, which is related to regulatory constraints (or voids) and their implementation (or not) and third, that FLMs tend to exert their own agency in responding to HRM/ER policies when facing increased role conflict.

Suggested Citation

  • Wei Wei, 2024. "Never cross the red line? Analysing employment relations practices and the behaviour of front‐line managers in Chinese McDonald's stores," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(2), pages 100-118, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:indrel:v:55:y:2024:i:2:p:100-118
    DOI: 10.1111/irj.12417
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/irj.12417
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/irj.12417?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. MinWoong Ji & David Weil, 2015. "The Impact of Franchising on Labor Standards Compliance," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 68(5), pages 977-1006, October.
    2. Mingwei Liu & Chunyun Li, 2014. "Environment Pressures, Managerial Industrial Relations Ideologies and Unionization in Chinese Enterprises," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 52(1), pages 82-111, March.
    3. Sarosh Kuruvilla & Mingwei Liu & Chunyun Li & Wansi Chen, 2020. "Field Opacity and Practice-Outcome Decoupling: Private Regulation of Labor Standards in Global Supply Chains," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 73(4), pages 841-872, August.
    4. Zhang,Lu, 2014. "Inside China's Automobile Factories," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781107030855, September.
    5. Dave Lyddon & Xuebing Cao & Quan Meng & Jun Lu, 2015. "A strike of ‘unorganised’ workers in a Chinese car factory: the Nanhai Honda events of 2010," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(2), pages 134-152, March.
    6. Jos Gamble & Qihai Huang, 2009. "One Store, Two Employment Systems: Core, Periphery and Flexibility in China's Retail Sector," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 47(1), pages 1-26, March.
    7. Anastasios Hadjisolomou & Sam Simone, 2021. "Profit over People? Evaluating Morality on the Front Line during the COVID-19 Crisis: A Front-Line Service Manager’s Confession and Regrets," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 35(2), pages 396-405, April.
    8. Jude Howell & Tim Pringle, 2019. "Shades of Authoritarianism and State–Labour Relations in China," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 57(2), pages 223-246, June.
    9. Friedman, Eli & Kuruvilla, Sarosh, 2015. "Experimentation and decentralization in China's labor relations," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 65140, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    10. Tony Royle & Yvonne Rueckert, 2022. "McStrike! Framing, (Political) Opportunity and the Development of a Collective Identity: McDonald’s and the UK Fast-Food Rights Campaign," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 36(3), pages 407-426, June.
    11. Colin Hales, 2005. "Rooted in Supervision, Branching into Management: Continuity and Change in the Role of First‐Line Manager," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(3), pages 471-506, May.
    12. Wei Huang, 2022. "What sort of workplace democracy can democratic management achieve in China?," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(6), pages 578-601, November.
    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. Wei Huang, 2022. "What sort of workplace democracy can democratic management achieve in China?," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(6), pages 578-601, November.
    2. Elaine Sio‐ieng Hui, 2022. "Bottom‐Up Unionization in China: A Power Resources Analysis," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 60(1), pages 99-123, March.
    3. Gottschalck, Nicole & Guenther, Christina & Kellermanns, Franz, 2020. "For whom are family-owned firms good employers? An exploratory study of the turnover intentions of blue- and white-collar workers in family-owned and non-family-owned firms," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 11(3).
    4. Helmerich, Nicole & Raj-Reichert, Gale & Zajak, Sabrina, 2021. "Exercising associational and networked power through the use of digital technology by workers in global value chains," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 25(2), pages 142-166.
    5. Bitsch, Vera & Yakura, Elaine K., 2007. "Middle Management in Agriculture: Roles, Functions, and Practices," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 10(2), pages 1-28.
    6. Pengxin Xie & Lian Zhou, 2022. "Keeping dispute resolution internal: Exploring the role of the industrial relations climate, organizational embeddedness and organizational turbulence," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 43(2), pages 898-917, May.
    7. Ankita Patnaik, "undated". "Exploring External Data to Enhance Monitoring and Evaluation of WHD’s Compliance Strategies," Mathematica Policy Research Reports 13d036c972ee44c491704e496, Mathematica Policy Research.
    8. Chunyun Li & Sarosh Kuruvilla, 2023. "Corporate codes of conduct and labour turnover in global apparel supply chains," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 61(3), pages 481-505, September.
    9. Cathy Sheehan & Helen De Cieri & Brian K Cooper & Robert Brooks, 2016. "The impact of HR political skill in the HRM and organisational performance relationship," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 41(1), pages 161-181, February.
    10. 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.
    11. 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.
    12. Mick Marchington & Jane Suter, 2013. "Where Informality Really Matters: Patterns of Employee Involvement and Participation (EIP) in a Non-Union Firm," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52, pages 284-313, January.
    13. Li, Chunyun & Liu, Mingwei, 2018. "Overcoming the collective action problems facing Chinese workers: lessons from four protests against Walmart," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 89066, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    14. Jonathan Morris & Jean Jenkins & Jimmy Donaghey, 2021. "Uneven Development, Uneven Response: The Relentless Search for Meaningful Regulation of GVCs," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 59(1), pages 3-24, March.
    15. Leclercq-Vandelannoitte, Aurélie, 2021. "“Seeing to be seen”: The manager’s political economy of visibility in new ways of working," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 39(5), pages 605-616.
    16. F. Grazzini, 2010. "Processus de constitution des rôles managériaux dans la formation de la stratégie – une lecture ancrée dans la théorie des représentations sociales," Post-Print halshs-00534813, HAL.
    17. Adnan Faridi, Akhtar Baloch, 2019. "Training and Development Methods affecting Professionalism and Empowerment of Banking Sector Employees," Journal of Management Sciences, Geist Science, Iqra University, Faculty of Business Administration, vol. 6(2), pages 75-92, October.
    18. Alejandro Donado, 2021. "Why do they JUST DO IT? A Theory of Outsourcing and Working Conditions," Open Economies Review, Springer, vol. 32(3), pages 559-586, July.
    19. Céline LOUCHE & Guillaume DELAUTRE & Gabriela BALVEDI PIMENTEL, 2023. "Assessing companies' decent work practices: An analysis of ESG rating methodologies," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 162(1), pages 69-97, March.
    20. Jos Gamble, 2010. "Transferring Organizational Practices and the Dynamics of Hybridization: Japanese Retail Multinationals in China," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(4), pages 705-732, June.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:bla:indrel:v:55:y:2024:i:2:p:100-118. 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: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0019-8692 .

    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.