A decade of econometric research has shown that X-efficiency dominates scale and scope as the drivers of inefficiency in the U.S. banking industry. However, this research falls short in explaining the causes of the high degree of X-efficiency in the industry. This paper summarizes a four-year...

Using data from interviews and a 1991 survey of Massachusetts nursing homes, the author examines employment practices across establishments for the entry-level job of nursing assistant. Practices characteristic of good jobs came in bundles: wages, benefits, employer-provided training, and...

Quantitative industrial relations research frequently relies on data collected from large surveys of establishments that use complex sampling designs, such as stratified and unequal probability sampling. The authors analyze two complex surveys of establishments, the National Organizations Survey...

This paper examines employee reactions to the introduction of work teams, reduced job classifications, and skill-based pay as established through the Modern Operating Agreement (MOA) between Chrysler Corporation and the United Auto Workers. Survey data suggest that workers responded favorably to...

Using data from extensive on-site interviews conducted in 1997, 1998, and 1999, the authors examine trends in job content and earnings in selected jobs in two American banks. Firm restructuring and technological changes resulted in higher earnings for college-educated workers. The banks followed...

Using 1994-95 survey data on customer service representatives in 303 U.S. bank branches, the authors investigate the effects on wages of information technology (IT), of work practices, and of those two factors in combination. Off-line high-involvement practices (measured by the presence of...

The proposition that the way firms manage their labor forces should be consistent with their organization strategy might seem both obvious and noncontroversial. What this means in practice in a turbulent industry such as consumer financial service, however, is by no means obvious. Human resource...

Quantitative industrial relations research frequently relies on data collected from large surveys of establishments that use complex sampling designs, such as stratified and unequal probability sampling. The authors analyze two complex surveys of establishments, the National Organizations Survey...

This paper examines employee reactions to the introduction of work teams, reduced job classifications, and skill-based pay as established through the Modern Operating Agreement (MOA) between Chrysler Corporation and the United Auto Workers. Survey data suggest that workers responded favorably to...

Using 1994–95 survey data on customer service representatives in 303 U.S. bank branches, the authors investigate the effects on wages of information technology (IT), of work practices, and of those two factors in combination. Offline high-involvement practices (measured by the presence of...