Examining the relationship between employee indicators of resistance to changes in job conditions and wider organisational change. Evidence from Ireland
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/EBHRM-04-2015-0013 |
| Date | 04 April 2016 |
| Pages | 30-48 |
| Published date | 04 April 2016 |
| Author | Seamus McGuinness,Hugh Cronin |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour,Global HRM |
Examining the
relationship between
employee indicators of
resistance to changes
in job conditions and
wider organisational change
Evidence from Ireland
Seamus McGuinness and Hugh Cronin
Economic Analysis Department, Economic and Social Research Institute,
Dublin, Ireland
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to use a linked employer-employee data set, the National
Employment Survey, to examine the determinants of organisational change and employee resistance to
change and, specifically, to examine the influence of employee inflexibility on the implementation of
firm-level policies aimed at increasing competitiveness and workforce flexibility. A key finding arising
from the research is that while workforce resistance to job-related change often forces firms to seek
alternative means of achieving labour flexibility, there appears little that firms can do to prevent such
resistance occurring. The presence of HRM staff, consultation procedures, wage bargaining
mechanisms, bullying and equality polices, etc. were found to have little impact on the incidence of
workforce resistance to changes in job conditions.
Design/methodology/approach –The objectives of this paper are twofold: first, the authors model
the determinants of a measure of workforce resistance to job-related change and, second, the authors
assess the impact of workforce resistance on the probability that firms will implement various wider
forms of organisational change using linked employer-employee data.
Findings –Workforce resistance to proposed changes in job conditions was found to be lower in
organisations employing higher shares of educated workers and also in smaller firms. HRM and
employee relations measures were found to have little impact on worker resistance to changing
employment conditions, while trade union density was important only with respect to alterations to
core terms and conditions. Resistance was found to be important for wider organisational change.
Research limitations/implications –From a policy perspective, the key finding arising from the
research is that while workforce resistance to job-related change often forces firms to seek alternative
means of achieving flexibility, there appears little that firms can do to prevent such resistance
occurring or mediating its impacts. The presence of HRM staff, consultation procedures, wage
bargaining mechanisms, bullying and equality polices, etc. were found to have little impact on the
incidence of workforce resistance to changes in job conditions.
Social implications –The results support the hypothesis that the increased use of peripheral
workers observed in many aspect of the economy is due, at least in part, to inflexibility among existing
workers to take on additional roles and responsibilities.
Originality/value –The paper utilises a linked employee-employer data set in a novel way to
investigate within firm relationships and tests a number of hypotheses using advanced econometric
techniques.
Keywords Organizational behaviour, Interpersonal conflict
Paper type Research paper
Evidence-based HRM: a Global
Forum for Empirical Scholarship
Vol. 4 No. 1, 2016
pp. 30-48
©Emerald Group Publishing Limited
2049-3983
DOI 10.1108/EBHRM-04-2015-0013
Received 24 April 2015
Revised 31 July 2015
Accepted 6 August 2015
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/2049-3983.htm
30
EBHRM
4,1
1. Introduction
Within an increasingly challenging economic environment, firms –both domestic and
foreign-owned –struggle to maintain competitiveness, particularly given that wages
remain downwardly rigid even in times of economic stress (Babecký et al., 2010; Bertola
et al., 2010; Christopoulou et al., 2010; Autor and Katz, 1999; Fuss, 2008). The majority of
the research has found that wage levels generally exhibit downward rigidity, with the
probability of wage cuts being lower the more skilled the worker. Downward wage
rigidity is also consistent with a number of theoretical labour market models such as
the efficiency wage theory (Shapiro and Stiglitz, 1984), adverse selection theory (Weiss,
1980) and insider-outsider theory (Lindbeck and Snower, 1988). Given the inflexibility
of earnings, it stands to reason that firms tend to seek to improve competitiveness
primarily through other forms of organisational change. Pfeffer (1994) notes that, with
a decreasing competitive advantage provided by traditional sources of success such as
product and process technology, how the workforce is managed is comparatively more
important. The ability of firms to implement organisational change will undoubtedly be
impacted by the extent of co-operation of the workforce which, itself, may be a function
of many factors such as the nature and scale of HRM practices, bargaining
arrangements and industrial sector, etc.
The link betweenworkforce resistance and organisational changeis under-researched
perhaps due to a lack of available data that allows for a linking of employee sentiment
to firm-level management strategies. This paper utilises data from a matched
employer-employee survey captured at the beginning of the Irish downturn in October
2008. The study captures activityat the very beginning of the economiccrises, when the
decline in output was still relatively modest and the scale of the recession to come
remained largelyunforeseen. Given this, theanalysis relates to a relativelynormal period
of activity with respect to both worker and employee expectations and is likely be have
continued relevance in the current economic climate where, on the whole, the overall
degree and structure of employment are rapidly returning to pre-recession levels.
The research provides a unique assessment of the determinants of firm-level
organisational change over a range of dimensions related to employee performance
and, more importantly, measures the extent to which such change is impeded or
stimulated as a consequence of levels of workforce resistance. It is important to note
that worker resistance is difficult to measure as actual acts of resistance are rarely
captured in data sets. Within this paper workforce resistance is proxied by a number
of subjective responses to expected resistance to change in areas related to employee
terms and conditions. We operate on the reasonable assumption that such a measure
of expected resistance to change, averagedacrossallworkersinthefirm,willbe
correlated with past levels of actual resistance to changes and will also be a strong
predictor of future worker resistance. In support of this, Choi (2011) demonstrates
that change-specific commitments, such as commitment to change and cynicism
about organisational change, are better predictors of either support for change or
resistance to it than general attitudes, such as organisational commitment and
organisational cynicism. Choi (2011) concludes that, given their propensity to evolve
according to the situation, attitudes to change are better conceptualised as states
rather than personality traits. Nevertheless, while individual attitudes to resistance
might be somewhat fluent over time, we would contend that average attitudes to
change within an organisation will tend to be much more static and will, therefore,
exert a relatively consistent influence over employer decisions regarding
organisational change.
31
Employee
indicators of
resistance
To continue reading
Request your trial