Temporary Work in Coordinated Market Economies: Evidence from Front-Line Service Workplaces

The growing use of temporary contracts in Europe raises the question of whether long-term employment relations are eroding in coordinated market economies, where protective regulations are historically strong. This paper, using data from establishment-level surveys conducted in 2003-2005, examines t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Industrial & labor relations review 2009-07, Vol.62 (4), p.602-617
Main Authors: Shire, Karen A., Mottweiler, Hannelore, Schönauer, Annika, Valverde, Mireia
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Call centers
Contracts
Denmark
Economic models
Economic regulation
Employers
Employment
Europe
Evidence
Exceptions
Federal Republic of Germany
France
Industrial regulation
Labor relations
Labor union representation
Labour relations
Layoffs
Long term
Market economies
Market Economy
Organizational factors
Regulation
Service economies
Spain
Sweden
Temporary employment
Temporary labor
Training
Work
Work place
Work skills
Workers
Workforce
Workplaces
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Summary:The growing use of temporary contracts in Europe raises the question of whether long-term employment relations are eroding in coordinated market economies, where protective regulations are historically strong. This paper, using data from establishment-level surveys conducted in 2003-2005, examines the institutional and organizational factors that have shaped the extent of use of temporary contracts in call centers in six European countries: Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Spain, and Sweden. While differences in regulatory regimes appear to have influenced employer behavior in some cases, the exceptions are striking, as the countries with the most stringent restrictions on temporary workers were among the heaviest users of such workers. By contrast, firm-level strategies that retained work in-house and invested in work force skills and training were consistent predictors of the use of long-term contracts as opposed to temporary ones.
ISSN:0019-7939
2162-271X
DOI:10.1177/001979390906200407