Environment Pressures, Managerial Industrial Relations Ideologies and Unionization in <scp>C</scp>hinese Enterprises

Liu, Mingwei; Li, Chunyun

doi:10.1111/j.1467-8543.2012.00908.x

Cited by 41 publications

(50 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…In this case, management viewed the enterprise union as ‘useless bureaucracy’ (Liu and Li : 90), but we saw little or no evidence of such a view in other companies. Otherwise, resource dependency more or less characterized all our cases.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 78%

“…Our findings are summarized in Table . Referring to Liu and Li's () analysis of management strategies, our evidence suggests that the ‘co‐optation’ strategy was the most common, resulting in a ‘company union’, going beyond basic welfare functions to act as a communication channel and deal with labour disputes. The ‘formalization’ strategy was the second most common, resulting in what we call the ‘welfare union’, concerned primarily with welfare functions, perhaps with formal agreement of a collective contract, but with little involvement in disputes or collective voice.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 83%

“…All our 12 cases had eventually adopted a strategy of ‘compliance’ in establishing an enterprise union (Liu and Li : 84). Seven established one in 2008, four during the 1990s and one in 2011.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Usually, the workforce is not involved and the company responds without consulting them. Liu and Li (: 84) identified three managerial strategies: ‘ignoring’, where management ignores the requirement and chooses to remain union free; ‘circumvention’, involving practices designed to avoid the requirement for a union; and ‘compliance’ where management accepts the establishment of an enterprise union. Once established, the development of the union may vary.…”

Section: Background and Prior Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Once established, the development of the union may vary. Liu and Li (: 85) argue that management strategy again plays a key role, from ‘suppression’, with management seeking to have a union in name only; to ‘formalization’, restricting the union to dealing with social welfare, perhaps with a formal collective contract but with no genuine collective voice; to ‘co‐optation’, where management allows the union to perform these functions, extending to a collective voice role and dealing with labour disputes, although on management's terms.…”

Section: Background and Prior Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

The Developing Role of Unions in China's Foreign‐Invested Enterprises

Chan

Snape

Luo

et al. 2016

Brit J Industrial Rel

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This article evaluates the development of Chinese enterprise unions, drawing on case-study evidence from foreign-invested enterprises in the Pearl River Delta. Findings suggest that it was difficult for such employers to resist the establishment of an enterprise union. However, they generally sought to co-opt the union to meet organizational needs. Management strategy was critical in shaping the union's role, and our evidence suggests that this was influenced by factors such as home-country policies, the expectations of overseas customers, management ideology and pressures from the ACFTU and the Party-State to comply with the requirement for a union. The implications for the role of unions are evaluated.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 78%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 83%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Background and Prior Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Background and Prior Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

The Developing Role of Unions in China's Foreign‐Invested Enterprises

Chan

Snape

Luo

et al. 2016

Brit J Industrial Rel

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How do industrial relations climate and union instrumentality enhance employee performance? The mediating effects of perceived job security and trust in management

Newman

Cooper

Holland

et al. 2018

Human Resource Management

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In this study, we examine the effects of two key variables associated with union effectiveness on the job performance of employees, and the mechanisms that explain such effects. More specifically, we investigate whether employees' perceptions that their union has a constructive relationship with management (industrial relations climate) and is able to act as an agent for their concerns (union instrumentality) promotes their job performance by enhancing their perceived job security and trust in management. Drawing on three waves of data from 303 employees and their immediate supervisors within 17 private enterprises in China, we find employees' perceptions of union effectiveness influence their job performance by enhancing both their perceived job security and trust in management. These findings are consistent with social exchange theory and conservation of resources theory. This article contributes to the literature by improving our understanding of how unions influence employees' work performance and by explaining how employees' perceptions of the industrial relations climate and union instrumentality influence their job performance. It also sheds light on the important issue of the effectiveness of unions in China, a country where the centrality of the Chinese Communist Party is often considered to have reduced the instrumentality of unions.

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Labor-Management Relations in Autocratic Regimes

Cooke

Wood

2022

Handbook of Labor, Human Resources and Population Economics

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This chapter examines contemporary labor-management relations in autocratic regimes, drawing on two sets of countries, namely transitional peripheral economies in Central Asia (Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan) and hierarchical market economies in Latin America (Colombia and Honduras), for analysis. We discuss the political economy, work, and labor relations of these countries, highlighting the role of the state, business, and international non-government organizations. We also take into account the impact of large-scale (often in millions) migration of workers both internally within the country and cross-border. It is important to note that, just as there are different types of democratic systems, there are also different types of autocratic regimes with distinct political, economic, and social policy orientations, and this directly impacts the nature of labor relations. Under Latin American right-wing authoritarianism, a primary focus is on supporting a relatively small property-owning elite, and any countervailing worker power is seen as a direct attack on the latter. Even if workers have employment rights under the law, this zero-sum game view frequently results in extra-legal attacks on worker activists and their representatives, making union organization an extremely dangerous business.In contrast, the Central Asian autocracies, business elites are tied up within extended clan networks. Especially within Uzbekistan, a much closer emphasis has been placed on the provision of a critical mass of jobs as a means of buying political stability. Unions have been afforded a place in the system both for historical reasons and as proof of an ability to create a critical mass of decent work; at the same time, there is little room for union autonomy.

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Environment Pressures, Managerial Industrial Relations Ideologies and Unionization in Chinese Enterprises

Cited by 41 publications

References 14 publications

The Developing Role of Unions in China's Foreign‐Invested Enterprises

The Developing Role of Unions in China's Foreign‐Invested Enterprises

How do industrial relations climate and union instrumentality enhance employee performance? The mediating effects of perceived job security and trust in management

Labor-Management Relations in Autocratic Regimes

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