Double-breasting employee voice: an assessment of motives, arrangements and durability

Tony Dundon, Niall Cullinane, Jimmy Donaghey, Tony Dobbins, Adrian Wilkinson, Eugene Hickland

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer-review

17 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This article explores employee voice within the specific institutional arrangement of double-breasting. Double-breasting is when multi-plant organizations recognize trade unions in some company sites, with non-union arrangements at other company plants, or where a unionized firm acquires a new site that it then operates on a non-union basis. We examine three research questions in four separate case study organizations that operate employee voice double-breasting arrangements across 16 workplace locations on the island of Ireland. These questions consider employer motives for double-breasting, the practices that characterize double-breasting employee voice, and the micro-political implications of double-breasting. The article contributes to knowledge on the emergence and impact of double-breasting and employee voice systems. We subsequently advance two theoretical propositions: the first theorizing employer motives for double-breasting, and the second explaining the extent to which the practice of double-breasting is durable over time.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)489-513
Number of pages25
JournalHuman Relations
Volume68
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 16 Mar 2015
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • double-breasting
  • employee representation
  • employee voice
  • union avoidance

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