Filling the gaps: Patterns of formal and informal participation
Author(s)
Townsend, Keith
Wilkinson, Adrian
Burgess, John
Year published
2013
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Industrial relations scholarship has traditionally privileged union forms of employee participation. In more recent years there has been a shift to understand the role of participation in non-union firms. This article develops theory on employee participation through analysis of an Australian case study in the hotel sector. The authors find that formal participation mechanisms are useful and essential for both employees and managers, however formal participation leaves behind gaps which are partially filled with informal voice exchanges between employees and their managers.Industrial relations scholarship has traditionally privileged union forms of employee participation. In more recent years there has been a shift to understand the role of participation in non-union firms. This article develops theory on employee participation through analysis of an Australian case study in the hotel sector. The authors find that formal participation mechanisms are useful and essential for both employees and managers, however formal participation leaves behind gaps which are partially filled with informal voice exchanges between employees and their managers.
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Journal Title
Economic and Industrial Democracy
Volume
34
Issue
2
Subject
Applied economics
Human resources management
Sociology
Human resources and industrial relations
Policy and administration