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Towards a Research Agenda on the Sustainable and Socially Responsible Management of Agency Workers Through a Flexicurity Model of HRM

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  • Mike Zhang
  • Timothy Bartram
  • Nicola McNeil
  • Peter Dowling

Abstract

Agency work is one of the most rapidly growing forms of employment in leading economies over the past two decades, signifying a global shift towards non-standard flexible employment modes. The rapid growth of agency work has become one of the most notable global employment trends and is set to become a permanent feature of the modern workplace. The growth of agency employment raises a number of ethical challenges for governments and businesses. A key emerging challenge is to identify firm-level HRM strategies to effectively manage and protect agency employees. Based on an extensive review of the existing research on agency work, this article develops an organizational-level flexicurity model of HRM as a promising answer to effectively manage agency employees in responsible ways within the context of increasing employment flexibilization. This article also develops a research agenda, providing a platform to inform future research. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015

Suggested Citation

  • Mike Zhang & Timothy Bartram & Nicola McNeil & Peter Dowling, 2015. "Towards a Research Agenda on the Sustainable and Socially Responsible Management of Agency Workers Through a Flexicurity Model of HRM," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 127(3), pages 513-523, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:127:y:2015:i:3:p:513-523
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-013-2045-z
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    References listed on IDEAS

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