Business Commons^™

How Institutions And Business Strategies Affect Wages: A Cross-National Study Of Call Centers, Rosemary Batt, Hiroatsu Nohara

Rosemary Batt

This paper, drawing on a 2003-2006 establishment-level survey of 1,819 call centers in 15 countries, examines effects of industrial relations institutions and employer strategies on wage variation across coordinated, liberal, and emerging market economies. The authors find several contradictory patterns, which confirm theoretical predictions for some countries and contradict them for others, suggesting diverse institutional reactions to the emergence of a new economic activity. Consistent with prior research, Denmark, France, and Sweden exhibit patterns of low wage dispersion and no union wage premium, and the United States, Canada, and emerging market economies exhibit quite high levels of dispersion. Contrary to …

Globalization, Expectations Model Of Economic Nationalism, And Consumer Behavior, Syed Akhter

Syed H. Akhter

Purpose – The goals of the paper are to propose, measure, and empirically test the expectations model of economic nationalism. The model posits that economic nationalism is reflected in people’s expectations of their government, domestic firms, and the general public, in terms of restricting the activities of foreign firms.

Design/methodology/approach – A confirmatory factor analysis is conducted to test the model, using the LISREL procedure.

Findings – Results show acceptable fit for the proposed model. Reliability of each of the three dimensions of economic nationalism is in the acceptable range. A nomological validity test showed that economic nationalism is related …

E-Commerce Patterns In South Asia: A Look Beyond Economics, Nir Kshetri, Nikhilesh Dholakia

Nikhilesh Dholakia

Conflicting and complex forces are shaping the diffusion patterns of the Internet and e-commerce in South Asia. Drawing upon the literature on institutional theory, we explore the drivers and inhibitors of the Internet in South Asian countries. We examine the influence of the three pillars of institutions (Scott, 1995) on the digital world of South Asia. The paper discusses how regulatory, normative, and cognitive institution–such as laws, relationships, culture, and habit–have shaped the diffusion patterns of the Internet and e-commerce in South Asia.

Regional Integration And Transnational Labor Strategies Under Nafta, Maria Cook

Maria Lorena Cook

[Excerpt] This paper argues that while the internationalization of the economy has tended to weaken national labor movements, the internationalization of domestic politics may expand the traditional arenas for strategic action for labor unions. In particular, the North American Free Trade Agreement has been portrayed by some of its many critics as representing the consolidation of a neoconservative or neoliberal project that will not only shape the future economic development of the region, but also constrain its social policies and limit its political options (Grinspun and Cameron 1993: Chapter 1). However, these same critics have also noted that the debate …

Reviving The Labor Movement: A Comparative Perspective, Lowell Turner

Lowell Turner

[Excerpt] In recent years, the long-declining U.S. labor movement has refocused in new and promising ways on rank-and-file mobilization, in organizing drives, collective bargaining conflicts and political campaigns. Such efforts are widely viewed as the best hope for revitalizing the labor movement: breathing new life into tired old unions, winning organizing drives and raising membership levels, increasing political influence, pushing toward the power necessary to reform labor law and ineffective labor institutions. The stakes are high and the goals ambitious: to close the "representation gap" at the workplace, reverse growing economic and social inequality, and build new coalitions for expanded …

Making Transnational Collaboration Work, Michael Gordon, Lowell Turner

Lowell Turner

[Excerpt] The need for transnational collaboration among unions across the world is great and growing in the global economy. Case studies presented in this book demonstrate the active fermentation in cross-border relations and a variety of different approaches, goals, and targets. Yet the barriers to successful collaboration among unions in different countries remain immense: from differences in union structure, ideology, and culture to conflicting interests and differing levels of economic development. What unions have accomplished by operating internationally is important, indeed much more substantial today than ever before. Yet these efforts remain a drop in the bucket compared to the …

[Review Of The Book Labor Regulation In The Global Economy], Gary Fields

Gary S Fields

[Excerpt] This is a practical and useful volume on labor standards in today’s highly globalized world. An introduction is followed by ten chapters, some of them general, talking about the ILO or the WTO, and some more specific, focusing on the United States and Europe. The general chapters cover the ILO, corporate codes of conduct, efforts to introduce labor standards into the multilateral trade regime, arguments for and against labor standards in trade, and policy implications. The specific chapters cover U.S. initiatives on child labor, labor standards in the bilateral trade agreements entered into by the United States and the …

Perspective Américaine Sur L'Alena Et Le Mouvement Syndical, Lance Compa

Lance A Compa

[Excerpt] Le climat antisyndical qui a cours aux États-Unis a conduit de grandes enterprises européennes à déménager certaines de leurs installations dans ce pays. Par exemple, BMW construit présentement une vaste usine en Caroline du Nord, État qui possède le taux de syndicalisation le plus faible aux États-Unis, et Mercedes-Benz met sur pied une exploitation en Alabama, autre Etat antisyndical. Là où les syndicats existent encore, leurs membres subissent de vives pressions pour accepter une diminution des salaires et des avantages sociaux pour preserver leurs emplois. D'après le Department of Labor des États-Unis, le salaire réel des travailleurs américains a …

Labour Rights In The Ftaa, Lance Compa

Lance A Compa

[Excerpt] Without an overall trade agreement containing stronger labour rights linkage than that of the NAALC model, advocates will have no central forum or mechanism for dealing with workers' rights in the Americas. This paper suggests that labour rights advocates can and should shape a new viable social dimension in hemispheric trade and demand its inclusion in the FTAA. The emphasis of this paper is on a viable, not a definitive or triumphant, solution. Workers and their advocates do not triumph in the current conjuncture of economic and political forces. They do not will their way to victory with the …

Globalization And Economic Integration: Winners And Losers In The Asia-Pacific

Ahmed Khalid

‘Noel Gaston and Ahmed M. Khalid’s volume offers fascinating insights on the development, causes, and consequences of globalization in the Asia-Pacific. The outstanding collection of articles combines theory with rigorous econometrics, making the book a must-read for every student of globalization. At a time where the global crisis gave new arguments to the critics of globalization, the questions raised in this book, and the answers given, are essential reading for academics and politicians alike.’ – Axel Dreher, University of Goettingen, Germany Given the importance of globalization in today’s world, this salutary and timely book explores how globalization is specifically shaping …

Has Globalization Increased Australian Inequality?, Noel Gaston, Gulasekaran Rajaguru

Gulasekaran Rajaguru

No abstract provided.

Global Sustainable Values – Video Interviews To Selected Global Leaders, Marco Tavanti

Marco Tavanti

Dr. Tavanti's interviews to selected global leaders exemplifying teaching values on sustainability, human rights, international development, social responsibility and public service