Union inclusiveness and temporary agency workers: the role of power resources and union ideology

This article investigates the determinants of union inclusiveness towards agency workers in Western Europe, using an index which combines unionization rates with dimensions of collective agreements covering agency workers. Using fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis, we identify two combinations of conditions leading to inclusiveness: the ‘Northern path’ includes high union density, high bargaining coverage and high union authority, and is consistent with the power resources approach. The ‘Southern path’ combines high union authority, high bargaining coverage, statutory regulations of agency work and working-class orientation, showing that ideology rather than institutional incentives shapes union strategies towards the marginal workforce

Change and continuity in Japanese compensation practices: the case of occupational pensions since the early 2000s

This article analyses changes in the provision of Japanese occupational pensions since the early 2000s. It shows how Japanese companies have followed strategies of cost and risk reduction by creating multi-layered benefit systems that offer a combination of defined benefit (DB) and defined contribution (DC) plans whose benefits are becoming increasingly performance-oriented. Analysing the reasons behind the resilience of DB schemes in Japan, the article concludes that enterprise union behaviour has had less influence than regulatory issues and continued corporate commitment to long-standing employment practices for regular workers. These findings highlight the embeddedness of Japanese employment practices in their institutional context

Job embeddedness in Japanese organizations

In contrast to the vast literature on voluntary turnover, the job embeddedness theory describes why individuals choose to stay in their organizations. Because this theory has been developed and validated mainly in the USA, this study explores its applicability and functioning in Japanese organizations through 110 interviews with managers, employees and executive-search consultants. While the original theory provides a useful framework to explain the web of forces that embed people to their organizations, a distinctive set of cultural and institutional factors affected job embeddedness in Japanese organizations. In particular, on-the-job ties and sacrifices were important job embeddedness dimensions in Japanese organizations