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Examining the Relationship between Employee Resistance to Changes in Job Conditions and Wider Organisational Change: Evidence from Ireland

Author

Listed:
  • Cronin, Hugh

    (Economic and Social Research Institute, Dublin)

  • McGuinness, Seamus

    (Economic and Social Research Institute, Dublin)

Abstract

This paper uses a linked employer-employee dataset, the National Employment Survey, to examine the determinants of organisational change and employee resistance to change and, specifically, to examine the influence of employee inflexibility on the implementation of firm-level policies aimed at increasing competitiveness and workforce flexibility. Key finding arising from the research is that while workforce resistance to job-related change often forces firms to seek alternative means of achieving labour flexibility, there appears little that firms can do to prevent such resistance occurring. The presence of HRM staff, consultation procedures, wage bargaining mechanisms, bullying and equality polices etc were found to have little impact on the incidence of workforce resistance to changes in job conditions.

Suggested Citation

  • Cronin, Hugh & McGuinness, Seamus, 2014. "Examining the Relationship between Employee Resistance to Changes in Job Conditions and Wider Organisational Change: Evidence from Ireland," IZA Discussion Papers 8441, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8441
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Emmanuel Dhyne & Martine Druant, 2010. "Wages, labor or prices : How do firms react to shocks ?," Working Paper Research 193, National Bank of Belgium.
    2. Jan Babecký & Philip Du Caju & Theodora Kosma & Martina Lawless & Julián Messina & Tairi Rõõm, 2009. "The margins of labour cost adjustment: survey evidence from european firms," Working Papers 108, Bank of Greece.
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    4. Dow, James & Perotti, Enrico, 2010. "Resistance to Change," Institutions and Markets Papers 60752, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM).
    5. Carl M. Campbell III & Kunal S. Kamlani, 1997. "The Reasons for Wage Rigidity: Evidence from a Survey of Firms," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 112(3), pages 759-789.
    6. Jan Babecký & Philip Du Caju & Theodora Kosma & Martina Lawless & Julián Messina & Tairi Rõõm, 2010. "Downward Nominal and Real Wage Rigidity: Survey Evidence from European Firms," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 112(4), pages 884-910, December.
    7. Thomas I. Palley, 1990. "A Theory of Downward Wage Rigidity: Job Commitment Costs, Replacement Costs, and Tacit Coordination," Journal of Post Keynesian Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 12(3), pages 466-486, March.
    8. McGuinness, Seamus & Kelly, Elish & O'Connell, Philip J., 2008. "The Impact of Wage Bargaining Regime on Firm-Level Competitiveness and Wage Inequality: The Case of Ireland," Papers WP266, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    organisational change; linked employer-employee data; workforce resistance;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J51 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Trade Unions: Objectives, Structure, and Effects
    • J53 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Labor-Management Relations; Industrial Jurisprudence

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