The management of voice in non‐union organisations: managers’ perspectives
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/01425450510591620 |
| Published date | 01 June 2005 |
| Date | 01 June 2005 |
| Pages | 307-319 |
| Author | Tony Dundon,Adrian Wilkinson,Mick Marchington,Peter Ackers |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour |
The management of voice in
non-union organisations:
managers’ perspectives
Tony Dundon
Department of Management, and Centre for Innovation and Structural Change
(CISC), National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland
Adrian Wilkinson
Loughborough University Business School, Loughborough, UK
Mick Marchington
Manchester Business School, The University of Manchester,
Manchester, UK, and
Peter Ackers
Loughborough University Business School, Loughborough, UK
Abstract
Purpose – Given the emergence of new legal initiatives for union recognition, declining levels of
union membership and the growth of alternative forms of employee representation, this paper aims to
examine the management of employee voice in non-union firms.
Design/methodology/approach – The research adopts a case study approach in seven non-union
organisations from different sectors of economic activity in the UK. Several themes guided the design
of the research instruments. Interviews were conducted with managerial respondents responsible for
the design and implementation of employee voice at each case study, including non-personnel
practitioners.
Findings – Provides information on: the meaning of non-union voice; the range of practices adopted;
the potential outcomes; and apparent barriers to the implementation of non-union voice arrangements.
Research limitations/implications – The research collected data from managerial respondents
only, and this limitation is noted. Further research in this area is suggested, particularly from
employee stakeholders involved in the processes of employee involvement.
Originality/value – The paper addresses a gap on employee voice in non-union settings. It suggests
that it is too simple to dismiss voice in non-union organisations as ineffective and inconsequential.
Keywords Non-unionism,Employee relations, Joint consultations,Employee representatives,
United Kingdom
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Employee voice is a term that is now widely used in the practitioner and academic
literature on human resource management (HRM) and industrial relations (IR) (Benson,
2000; Gollan, 2002; Dundon et al., 2004). In the high performance literature, voice is seen
as a stimulant in the creation of organisational commitment (Lewin and Mitchell, 1992;
Pfeffer, 1998). Indeed, publications on participation emphasise the importance of
giving employees a feeling that they are making choices, in both union and non-union
settings (Marchington et al., 2001). An alternative perspective views voice in terms of
The Emerald Research Register for this journal is available at The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/researchregister www.emeraldinsight.com/0142-5455.htm
Voice in
non-union
organisations
307
Employee Relations
Vol. 27 No. 3, 2005
pp. 307-319
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
0142-5455
DOI 10.1108/01425450510591620
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