Originally published in 1989, this book analyses the economic and political position of the small firm in the 1980s, and in particular the relationship between small and large firms in an advanced capitalist economy. Focusing on the printing and clothing industries, it examines the industrial relation practices in these two contrasting sectors and shows that apparent industrial relations harmony – for example, the lack of strikes – should be put down to the powerlessness of the workforce rather than to contentment.

OOPEC 891109

Well-managed employment relationships can be a secret to business success, yet this factor is relatively poorly understood when it comes to small and medium-sized enterprises (SME’s). Written by active researchers with teaching experience, this book brings together the fields of entrepreneurship and human resource management for the first time, providing entrepreneurship students with a solid grounding in HRM as well as a platform for further critical engagement with the research. The concise and authoritative style also enables the book to be used as a primer for researchers exploring this under-developed terrain. As the only student-focused specialist book on human resource management in entrepreneurial firms, this is vital reading for students and researchers in this area, as well as those interested in small business and management more generally.

Recorded in this volume are some papers presented at an international symposium in comparative industrial relations held in Bologna on 11 January 1991, organized by SINNEA, research and training institute, in collaboration with The John Hopkins University, Bologna Center. Key issues such as collective bargaining, health and safety matters, dismissal law and atypical labour are discussed in a comparative perspective in connection with the working environment of the small and medium-sized enterprises.

Presents a descriptive analysis of employment relations in small and medium-sized private-sector enterprises (SMEs) using data from the 2004 Workplace Employment Relations Survey (WERS 2004). It is based on a subset of interviews with managers in around 600 private sector workplaces that belonged to SMEs. It also draws on a survey of around 5,000 employees working in these establishments.