Employee Representation in Non‐Union Firms – By Paul J. Gollan
| Published date | 01 December 2007 |
| Author | Peter Butler |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8543.2007.00656.x |
| Date | 01 December 2007 |
volume employs one sequence of endnotes throughout, placed at the rear of the book,
yet reference lists are compiled for each chapter. Cue much irritating turning of pages
to find the right chapter and set of references to locate a work mentioned in a
particular note. Rather surprisingly, also, for a book by a well-known UK publisher
with very few US contributors, the text employs American spellings (almost consis-
tently) throughout, and it is difficult to see the rationale for such a policy.
The very diversity of the book — too expansive to really capture in a brief review
— is, in my view, both a strength and potential weakness. In its favour, the editors
have made a serious attempt to utilize a number of theoretical and disciplinary
perspectives to integrate recent currents of study into relationships between the
workplace, organizations and national institutional architectures and how they are
evolving. My only worry is that the multiple foci of the book will lead to it falling
between a number of stools and result in its contributions receiving less attention
than they rightfully should. That would be a shame. There are few books on work
and society that combine regulation theory, the new institutionalism, geography,
economics and industrial sociology in as provocative and engaging a fashion as this
one.
Peter Scott
University of Portsmouth
Employee Representation in Non-Union Firms by Paul J. Gollan. Sage Publications,
London, 2007, viii +222 pp., ISBN 1 4129 0347 9, £65.00
This book is the first extended British publication dealing specifically with the theme
of non-union systems of employee representation (NER). Given the increased interest
in this area, inspired in part by the requirements of the information and consultation
directive, the contribution is an important and timely one. To date, scholars working
in this much overlooked area have not had the benefit of a single point of reference.
This monograph, which combines Gollan’s own empirical research with leading
theoretical contributions, fills an important void.
The text commences with an overview of the history and growing importance of the
NER phenomenon before setting out the central research issues. Important themes
considered include: managerial strategies towards, and objectives behind, NER
arrangements; the effectiveness of this institutional form of employee voice; and union
responses and approaches towards NER. The major theoretical and conceptual issues
relevant to these topics are subsequently unpacked in the early chapters. As part of the
analysis, the author draws extensively on the North American literature, where
research into non-union representation or ‘company unionism’ significantly predates
its UK counterpart.
In order to address the key research questions, the book adopts a twin-track
research strategy and the findings are actually collated from studies in nine separate
organizations. In six of these (Sainsbury’s, The John Lewis Partnership, HP Bulmer
Ltd, Grosvenor Casinos, Ciba Speciality Chemicals and Panasonic (UK) Ltd) a total
of 45 interviews were conducted with managers, employee representatives, and ‘where
appropriate’, union officials. Over and above this, three further in-depth longitudinal
case studies were conducted in Eurotunnel (UK), News International (UK) and South
West Water. Given the sheer range of empirical sources, it is almost inevitable that
there is some variation in terms of the quality and quantity of information.
Book Reviews 867
© Blackwell Publishing Ltd/London School of Economics 2007.
To continue reading
Request your trial