Frontier of control struggles in British and Irish public transport

Emma Hughes and Tony Dobbins
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Emma Hughes: University of Liverpool, UK
Tony Dobbins: University of Birmingham, UK

European Journal of Industrial Relations, 2021, vol. 27, issue 3, 327-344

Abstract: Few contemporary studies of change in industrial relations use Carter Goodrich’s classic concept of the ‘frontier of control’ (FoC), especially in cross-national comparative research. Our study maps FoC struggles in two public transport organizations in the UK and the Republic of Ireland. Qualitative methods generate significant insights into complex day-to-day workplace control patterns in these two cases. Despite changes in the frontier of control in both organizations over time, it is observed that employment relations in the Irish case are more cooperative than in the British. The frontier of control still matters, because workplace control regimes shape managerial ability to secure worker consent and are always potentially contestable terrains.

Keywords: Autonomy; conflict; frontier of control; Ireland; public transport; UK (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:eurjou:v:27:y:2021:i:3:p:327-344

DOI: 10.1177/0959680120929137

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