The concept of the High Performance Work System (HPWS) is a comparativelyrecent development in Human Resource Management (HRM). An HPWS is a worksystem comprising of various employment relations practices intended to createcompetitive advantage by integrating the firm’s strategic objectives...

The role of human resource management practices in promoting the performance of firms is widely debated. Yet much of the debate has reached an impasse, with uncertain results as to which practices in fact work and why. It has, moreover, rarely gone beyond the context of large firms. This paper...

The role of human resource management practices in promoting the performance of firms is widely debated. Yet much of the debate has reached an impasse, with uncertain results as to which practices in fact work and why. It has, moreover, rarely gone beyond the context of large firms. This paper...

Small firms account for a substantial proportion of employment in advanced economies; yet understanding of the quality of jobs in them remains poor. Studies using national-level data find that indicators such as autonomy are high but find it hard to say why. Analyses within small firms stress...

The concept of the Low Skills Equilibrium (LSE) denotes a mutually reinforcing set of mechanisms that generate a pattern of low skills and low productivity. The idea has been a powerful one in both analytical and policy terms. There is growing emphasis on the need to study the LSE at the level...