This paper explores the consequences of the introduction by National Health Service (NHS) trusts (i.e. hospitals) of their own pay systems. It is based on case studies of ten NHS trusts and involved 73 interview sessions with a variety of stakeholders and the examination of employment data and...

Purpose – To introduce the papers in the special issue. Design/methodology/approach – Provides a brief review of the papers. Findings – The papers cover a broad variety of human resource topics and the range of separate public services, including the impact of performance indicators on HRM...

Not only are most franchisees themselves small businesses, but so are many franchisors, particularly in the formative years of their franchise businesses. High turbulence and attrition rates in the formative years of franchise businesses result in an industry profile whereby, at any one time,...

Not only are most franchisees themselves small businesses, but so are many franchisors, particularly in the formative years of their franchise businesses. High turbulence and attrition rates in the formative years of franchise businesses result in an industry profile whereby, at any one time,...

Under the Thatcher Government′s “Enterprise Culture”, the size of the small business sector has frequently been taken as a key indicator of economic success in Britain. Measurement of achievement in such terms does indeed indicate a high degree of economic buoyancy. However, a deeper...

The recent revival of self-employment in the UK and other advanced industrialized economies has been viewed contrastingly as an indication of economic vitality and, alternatively, as a form of labour market deficiency. These different perceptions rest essentially on two opposing processes of...

Purpose – The article seeks to explain the rapid increase in the use of agency “temps” by employers during the 1990s. It tests the thesis of profound change in employers' labour use decisions. Design/methodology/approach – The data was from in‐depth interviews with human resource/line...