IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/eurjou/v27y2021i3p327-344.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Frontier of control struggles in British and Irish public transport

Author

Listed:
  • Emma Hughes

    (University of Liverpool, UK)

  • Tony Dobbins

    (University of Birmingham, UK)

Abstract

Few contemporary studies of change in industrial relations use Carter Goodrich’s classic concept of the ‘frontier of control’ (FoC), especially in cross-national comparative research. Our study maps FoC struggles in two public transport organizations in the UK and the Republic of Ireland. Qualitative methods generate significant insights into complex day-to-day workplace control patterns in these two cases. Despite changes in the frontier of control in both organizations over time, it is observed that employment relations in the Irish case are more cooperative than in the British. The frontier of control still matters, because workplace control regimes shape managerial ability to secure worker consent and are always potentially contestable terrains.

Suggested Citation

  • Emma Hughes & Tony Dobbins, 2021. "Frontier of control struggles in British and Irish public transport," European Journal of Industrial Relations, , vol. 27(3), pages 327-344, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:eurjou:v:27:y:2021:i:3:p:327-344
    DOI: 10.1177/0959680120929137
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0959680120929137
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/0959680120929137?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. Tony Dobbins & Niall Cullinane & Brian Sheehan, 2020. "Ireland's conundrum on union bargaining rights: assessing the Industrial Relations Amendment Act 2015," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(1-2), pages 75-91, March.
    2. John Purcell, 1981. "The Processes of Good Industrial Relations," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Good Industrial Relations, chapter 2, pages 29-59, Palgrave Macmillan.
    3. John Purcell, 1981. "Good Industrial Relations," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-1-349-07101-2, October.
    4. John Purcell, 1981. "Good Industrial Relations," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-1-349-04503-7, October.
    5. Hyman, Richard, 2001. "Trade union research and cross-national comparison," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 757, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    6. John Purcell, 1981. "The Structure of Good Industrial Relations," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Good Industrial Relations, chapter 1, pages 3-28, Palgrave Macmillan.
    7. Hodson,Randy, 2001. "Dignity at Work," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521771313, September.
    8. John Purcell, 1981. "The Structure of Good Industrial Relations," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Good Industrial Relations, chapter 1, pages 3-28, Palgrave Macmillan.
    9. John Purcell, 1981. "The Processes of Good Industrial Relations," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Good Industrial Relations, chapter 2, pages 29-59, Palgrave Macmillan.
    10. Hodson,Randy, 2001. "Dignity at Work," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521778121, September.
    11. Batstone, Eric, 1986. "Labour and Productivity," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 2(3), pages 32-43, Autumn.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Atte Vieno, 2023. "‘It’s as if I’m Worth Nothing’—Cost-Driven Restructuring and the Dignity of Long-Term Workers in Finland’s State-Owned Postal Service Company," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 187(1), pages 17-31, September.
    2. Grégory Jemine, 2023. "It takes two to tango: Reconceptualizing union power and union effectiveness in a relational perspective," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(6), pages 445-470, November.

    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. Richard Hyman, 1987. "Strategy or Structure? Capital, Labour and Control," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 1(1), pages 25-55, March.
    2. Michel Anteby & Curtis K. Chan, 2018. "A Self-Fulfilling Cycle of Coercive Surveillance: Workers’ Invisibility Practices and Managerial Justification," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 29(2), pages 247-263, April.
    3. CemalIyem CemalIyem, 2013. "HRM vs Industrial Relations: a Comparative and Theoretical Evaluation of Two Disciplines," Journal of Social and Development Sciences, AMH International, vol. 4(4), pages 185-192.
    4. César González-Cantón & Sonia Boulos & Pablo Sánchez-Garrido, 2019. "Exploring the Link Between Human Rights, the Capability Approach and Corporate Responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 160(4), pages 865-879, December.
    5. Michael Pirson, 2019. "A Humanistic Perspective for Management Theory: Protecting Dignity and Promoting Well-Being," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 159(1), pages 39-57, September.
    6. Anne Junor & John O'Brien & Michael O'Donnell, 2009. "Welfare wars: public service frontline absenteeism as collective resistance," Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 6(1/2), pages 26-40, March.
    7. George A. Akerlof, 2007. "The Missing Motivation in Macroeconomics," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 97(1), pages 5-36, March.
    8. Daniel B. Cornfield, 2005. "Professions and inter-disciplinary teamwork in socially embedded bureaucracies: Synthesis and hypotheses on the impact of informal and formal organization," Enterprise and Work Innovation Studies, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, IET/CICS.NOVA-Interdisciplinary Centre on Social Sciences, Faculty of Science and Technology, vol. 1(1), pages 27-36, November.
    9. Hemantika Basu, 2019. "Mode of Work Organization in Nursing: Management Practices in Private Healthcare in India," Management and Labour Studies, XLRI Jamshedpur, School of Business Management & Human Resources, vol. 44(4), pages 433-454, November.
    10. Peccei, R.E., 2004. "Human Resource Management And The Search For The Happy Workplace," ERIM Inaugural Address Series Research in Management EIA-2004-021-ORG, Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM), ERIM is the joint research institute of the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University and the Erasmus School of Economics (ESE) at Erasmus University Rotterdam..
    11. Cam Caldwell & Mayra Canuto-Carranco, 2010. "“Organizational Terrorism” and Moral Choices – Exercising Voice When the Leader is the Problem," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 97(1), pages 159-171, November.
    12. Ramaswami Mahalingam & Patturaja Selvaraj, 2022. "Ambedkar, Radical Interdependence and Dignity: A Study of Women Mall Janitors in India," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 177(4), pages 813-828, May.
    13. Nicola M. Pless & Thomas Maak & Howard Harris, 2017. "Art, Ethics and the Promotion of Human Dignity," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 144(2), pages 223-232, August.
    14. Zawadzki Michał, 2018. "Dignity in the Workplace. The Perspective of Humanistic Management," Journal of Management and Business Administration. Central Europe, Sciendo, vol. 26(1), pages 171-188, March.
    15. John Paul Stephens & Jason Kanov, 2017. "Stories as Artworks: Giving Form to Felt Dignity in Connections at Work," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 144(2), pages 235-249, August.
    16. Rachael Pope, 2017. "The NHS: Sticking Fingers in Its Ears, Humming Loudly," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 145(3), pages 577-598, October.
    17. Thespina J. Yamanis & Samhita Rao & Alexandra J. Reichert & Rachel Haws & Taryn Morrissey & Angela Suarez, 2024. "Dignity of Work and at Work: The Relationship between Workplace Dignity and Health among Latino Immigrants during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 21(7), pages 1-17, June.
    18. Vincent J. Roscigno & Randy Hodson & Steven H. Lopez, 2009. "Workplace incivilities: the role of interest conflicts, social closure and organizational chaos," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 23(4), pages 747-773, December.
    19. Stephen Dunn, 1990. "Root Metaphor in the Old and New Industrial Relations," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 28(1), pages 1-31, March.
    20. Francisco José León, 2011. "Peer loyalty and quota restriction as social norms: A case study of their emergence," Rationality and Society, , vol. 23(1), pages 75-115, February.

    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:27:y:2021:i:3:p:327-344. 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: 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.