Keeping dispute resolution internal: Exploring the role of the industrial relations climate, organizational embeddedness and organizational turbulence

Abstract

Drawing on job embeddedness theory, this study investigates how and when the industrial relations climate influences employees’ preference for particular labour dispute resolution procedures. Analyses of multisource and multilevel data from China show that organizational embeddedness mediates the relationship between the industrial relations climate and preference for internal dispute resolution (IDR) and this indirect effect is stronger in organizations with a high level of turbulence. These findings provide novel theoretical explanation of the linkage between the industrial relations climate and employees’ preference for IDR and highlight the interactions between the industrial relations climate and organizational turbulence. Practical implications are also offered to facilitate employees’ preferences for IDR by improving the quality of the industrial relations climate.

Impact of union practices on labor relations in China: Institutional trust as a moderator

“…Finally, union initiatives have added instrumental and emotional value to the labor relations ( Sverke and Kuruvilla, 1995 ; Mellor and Golay, 2014 ; Redman and Snape, 2014 ). Unions have helped to balance the conflicting interests between labor and capital, through their work to improve the wages, benefits, and working conditions of employees ( Xie and Zhou, 2020 ). Labor union initiatives contribute to emotional well-being through efforts that result in employee recognition and awareness of their importance.…”

“…Trust has always been regarded as a positive factor in the organization and can effectively support the expectation of results ( Butler, 1991 ). Sufficient employee–union trust may encourage employees to have a strong sense of identity with union activities and may actively engage in and evaluate those efforts ( Xie and Zhou, 2020 ). The union activities would be regarded by employees as actions to safeguard their rights and interests as well as an expected source of organizational support ( Kougiannou et al, 2015 ).…”

What does democratic management do in Chinese workplaces? Evidence from matched employer–employee data

“…IRC is generally used to describe the nature and quality of a labour–management relationship (Campbell & Weststar, 2020), which reflects organisational members' perceptions of atmosphere, norms, attitudes, and behaviours in the interactive relationships within the organisation (Kersley et al., 2006; Xi et al., 2017). Prior studies have examined various antecedents and outcomes of IRC (Kersley et al., 2006; Newman et al., 2019; Xie & Zhou, 2022), among which a strand of literature has identified IRC as a key mediator between human resources management (HRM) practices and organisational performance (Kersley et al., 2006). Here, we extend this literature, arguing that IRC mediates the relationship between DM and firm productivity.…”