A qualitative shift is underway in the nature of labor protest in China. Contrary to prior literature that characterized strikes as being largely defensive in nature, the authors suggest that since 2008, Chinese workers have been striking offensively for more money, better working conditions,...

The authors use two models from biological science—the evolutionary model of gradual adaptation, and the contrasting punctuated equilibrium theory that posits occasional periods of rapid, fundamental change punctuating longer periods of stability—to define industrial relations...

This article analyzes the performance of the "wage-earner funds" established in Sweden in 1983-collective share-holding funds financed by special payroll and profits taxes. The authors' analysis indicates that although the wage-earner funds generally met the financial objectives set by the 1983...

This study examines the labor cost incentive for capital movement in manufacturing within the European Union, a key aspect of the "social dumping" debate in Western Europe. The authors find that the percentage differences in unit labor costs between the more developed and less developed...

This study investigates the validity in Japan of union participation models developed in North America. The results of ordinary least squares analysis suggest that members' participation in unions is positively related to many of the same factors in Japan as in North America: for example, length...

The authors develop a 'logic of action' framework to conceptualize the impact of globalization on employment relations (ER) and to predict the trajectory of ER. They argue that the interplay among three different logics of action-the logic of competition, the logic of industrial peace, and the...

This detailed case study of India’s "outsourcing" industry illustrates the challenges in linking macro and micro human resource policies with an economic development strategy based on export-oriented services. The rapid expansion in the outsourcing of services to India has raised the...

The authors assert that changing world markets and new technologies are driving industrial restructuring. The ability of developing countries and the new transitional economies to compete in the global marketplace will depend on their ability to transform industrial relations policies involving...