Organization Theories and the Dilemmas of Contemporary Labour Law

The aim of this short paper is to enlighten some cultural premises of the transformation of legal regulation of labour relations, referring in particular to the organizational ideas and concepts adopted in the doctrinal labour law debate and assuming that the transformation of labour law is not an immediate consequence of an economic and organizational transformation, but a consequence of a cultural transition of legal operators

The italian way to financial accumulation. Personal networks and informal practices of the italian economic elites

This paper challenges the belief that Italian capitalism is a static and unchanging one. Italian capitalism has retained some unique characteristics: an elitist structure, close personal relationships, a high degree of informality. However, far from being just the characteristics of an unchanging capitalism, these peculiarities were the resources that Italian capitalism exploited to change its mode of action. First, we identify the network of interlocking actors in the Italian stock market and their set of informal practices, illustrating the paramount role of families and informal relationships. Second, we show why these characteristics did not prevent Italian capitalists to enter an era of financial accumulation. Resilience is the keyword, understood both as adaptation to changing conditions and as active reaction, a proper transformation. As an example of adaptation, we analyse how Italian capitalism has faced some institutional changes preserving its traditional power structure. As an example of transformation, we show how Italian capitalism adopted patterns of financial accumulation and maximization of shareholder value. Finally, we argue that informality and the dissemination of personal relationships are not impediment to change: in the practical logic of social and economic actors they are rather resources to be exploited when it comes to make changes without sacrificing the status quo

Regolazione flessibile del lavoro, vulnerabilità e crisi del legame sociale

ItPer comprendere l’attuale configurazione della regolazione del lavoro, è necessario constatare che il valore politico del lavoro come bene sociale, a partire dagli anni Ottanta, è stato profondamente ridimensionato. La contrattualizzazione neo-liberale dei rapporti di lavoro, che ispira le più recenti riforme della regolazione del lavoro, tende a fare del lavoro stesso una mera attività strumentale al mantenimento della capacità di consumo. Si innesca, in questo modo, un processo ricorsivo che, indebolendo le autonomie collettive, rafforza le possibilità di valorizzazione capitalistica del lavoro ma, al tempo stesso, ne impoverisce il valore sociale e produce un deterioramento del legame sociale

Finanziarizzazione e regolazione del lavoro: un’alternativa analitica alle vulgate del postfordismo

The goal of this paper is to provide a contribution to the debate concerning the relationship between the financialization process of the economy and the organizational changes implemented by enterprises, as well as the transformation of labour regulation. The hypothesis here proposed is that there is a tight connection between these elements, and that the analysis of such connection provides key insights about how to critically interpret the development, in the last few decades, of organizational and managerial practices and of a profoundly renewed labour law. In this perspective, the paper offers an alternative reconstruction of the so-called “post-fordist” transformations

Economia fondamentale e territorio: ‘istituzioni della felicità’, auto-organizzazione e azione pubblica

This paper presents the essential features of the foundational economy approach, proposed by an international research network established in 2013 at the University of Manchester. Overcoming the mythology of hi-tech and advanced manufacturing, foundational economics scholars focus on the economic sectors decisive for well-being and social cohesion (for example, the production and distribution of food, the distribution of water and energy, health, education, transport). Such economic activities are strongly rooted in the territories, albeit often transcending their borders. The foundational economy has been weakened by the developments of the neo-liberal turn in the last thirty-five years. The search for extra-profits and rents, and the maximization of the return on capital, are today common practices in this economic area as well. The foundational economy research network aims to analyze these drifts and to cooperate with economic actors, political actors and collective actors of civil society to develop alternative instruments of action and regulation. The aim is not rejecting market coordination as such, but preventing the foundational economy from being subjected to short-term accumulation claims. In this perspective, forms of grassroots economic self-organisation are extremely important, but the need for innovative regulatory instruments at a national and international scale should not be underestimated

From individual choice to collective voice. Foundational economy, local commons and citizenship

none3noUnder what conditions and by which mechanisms do the defence and mana- gement of local commons open new spaces for the recovery of a universalistic model of citizenship, after the crisis of welfare capitalism regimes? To deal with this question we propose first to frame local commons within the range of Foundational Economy, namely the «civic infrastructure» of mundane goods and services that serve daily-life needs. We then discuss some analytical risks of the customary approach to local commons, arguing that the Foundational Economy approach may help to overcome them. Finally, we illustrate several cases of collective effort that support both the defence and the management of local commons. These cases are grounded in collective action and voice in support of a new universalistic model of citizenship where ritual social practices, legal rights and responsibilities are intertwined.mixedBarbera, Filippo; Negri, Nicola; Salento, AngeloBarbera, Filippo; Negri, Nicola; Salento, Angel

The value of the city. Rent extraction, right to housing and conflicts for the use of urban space

The extent of residential alienation and urban inequalities made visible in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis shed light on processes of politico-economic transformations that altered the role of housing within society since the late 1970s. The focus on (re-)commodification and financialization has become central in the debate and opened up rich interdisciplinary strands of research on the impacts that these processes have on housing. Building on such a fertile academic body of work, it is paramount to contribute to the setting of the public agenda, putting housing issues at the heart of the political debate and policy actions. Introducing this special issue, the paper is firstly asserting the political dimension of housing. Secondly the issue of urban rent extraction is discussed as crucial, especially in the face of the disruptive effects of extensive processes of re-commodification and financialization of housing and land markets in a context of neoliberal urban policies. Thirdly, the Italian case is presented as extremely relevant when it comes to understanding the political dimension of housing, recalling the controversial debates and clashes developed along the 20th century and the current trends of a country confronted with intense processes of financialization of housing, with a significantly accelerated real-estate cycle transforming the residential landscape and resulting in the most intense building cycle of the last half-century. Finally, the dynamics of de-politicisation (and re-politicisation) of housing are recalled with reference to the contributions collected in this special issue

Industria 4.0: Oltre il determinismo tecnologico

In the age of the so-called fourth industrial revolution, the social sciences and organizational studies are called to a very demanding challenge: overcoming technological determinism to understand the dynamics and perspectives of a transformation not at all automatic. The contributions collected in this book address, starting from different disciplinary perspectives, some of the most relevant questions posed by technological transformation: which are the dominant actors of this transformation? What is the relationship between technological transformation and organizational action? What is the role of workers in the technological transition? The element common to all contributions is the reasoned removal of a deterministic interpretation of technological transformation, the methodological rejection of the idea of self-development of technology