Search results

11 – 20 of over 16000
Article
Publication date: 28 September 2012

Sonia Pereira

The purpose of this paper is to challenge the idea of the immobile immigrant worker, trapped in the bottom segments of the labour market, by exploring how immigrants and their…

1196

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to challenge the idea of the immobile immigrant worker, trapped in the bottom segments of the labour market, by exploring how immigrants and their descendants (sometimes designated second generation immigrants) develop re‐emigration strategies in their first country of settlement in Europe when faced with structural or conjunctural barriers to the advancement of their socio‐economic situation.

Design/methodology/approach

Empirical evidence was collected through structured interviews aimed at capturing labour market and residential trajectories of workers of African origin and their descendants in Portugal, with a particular emphasis on the period between 1998 and 2006.

Findings

Findings suggest that in some cases, immigrants draw on social networks available to them to engage in processes of continued intra‐European mobility. International re‐emigration emerges as a work‐space mobility strategy for migrant workers and their descendants when there was no significant social mobility in the first destination. Similarly, international geographical mobility may constitute a self‐perpetuating strategy across generations to escape structural immobility faced by certain immigrant groups in destination contexts.

Research limitations/implications

Experiences reported are situated, so cannot be taken to represent those of all workers of African origin in Portugal.

Social implications

Findings presented in the paper highlight potential consequences of perpetuating geographical mobility throughout time, namely in terms of labour market conditions and family dynamics. They also highlight the need to look at socio‐economic mobility trajectories within Europe as integrated space and not just within national borders.

Originality/value

The paper proposes an encompassing view of migrants’ (im)mobilities over time, to include the conditions of their labour market incorporation and its links to further spatial, international, mobility.

Details

Employee Relations, vol. 34 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0142-5455

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 31 March 2023

Ben Hur Francisco Cardoso and Dominik Hartmann

A growing body of literature shows how intragenerational occupational mobility affects economic dynamics and social stratification. In this article the authors aim to carry out a…

Abstract

Purpose

A growing body of literature shows how intragenerational occupational mobility affects economic dynamics and social stratification. In this article the authors aim to carry out a structured review of this literature, outlining a systemic overview for more comprehensive research and public policies.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors use methods from structured literature reviews and network science to reveal the segmented research landscape of occupational mobility literature. The authors made an in-depth analysis of the most important papers to summarize the main contributions of the literature and identify research gaps.

Findings

The authors reveal a segmented research landscape around three communities: (1) human capital theory, (2) social stratification theory and (3) migration studies. Human capital research uses microfounded mathematical modeling to understand the relationship between skills and mobility. Nevertheless, it cannot explain social segregation and generally does not focus on the importance of local labor demand. Social stratification research can explain the social and institutional barriers to occupational mobility. Migration research studies the relationship between migration, labor demand and social mobility.

Originality/value

This paper is the first literature review that uses network analysis to perform a systematic review of the intragenerational occupational mobility literature. Moreover, this review identifies opportunities for mutual learning and research gaps in the research landscape.

Details

EconomiA, vol. 24 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1517-7580

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 February 2014

Jeonghwan Lee, Namgyoo K. Park and Hyojung Kim

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between change in organizational identity and knowledge creation of mobile research and development (R&D) workers by…

1157

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between change in organizational identity and knowledge creation of mobile research and development (R&D) workers by combining the literature on human mobility and mergers and acquisitions (M&As).

Design/methodology/approach

Negative binomial regression was used to test the hypotheses, based on knowledge creation of 410 mobile R&D workers in 75 high-technology M&As.

Findings

The findings showed that while a change in organizational identity after M&As decreased the knowledge creation by R&D workers who moved before M&As, a higher degree of human capital in mobile R&D workers could increase knowledge creation after M&As. A moderating effect of the change in organizational identity on the relationship between knowledge creation and human capital of mobile R&D workers was also found.

Research limitations/implications

This paper augmented the research opportunity on the organizational change and knowledge creation during an M&A by combining study of individual-level human mobility during firm-level M&As, suggesting change in organizational identity affects knowledge creation of mobile R&D workers. A limitation of this study is the focus of human capital accumulated in the prior company before movement.

Practical implications

The study suggests that managers intending to acquire knowledge through human mobility and M&As must implement post-mergers activities such as structural integration with care.

Originality/value

Much of the literature on human mobility has focused on knowledge creation after movement, regardless of the changes that may occur in of focal dyadic companies during M&As. The paper might be one of the first studies of knowledge creation of mobile R&D workers within the context of M&As.

Details

Journal of Organizational Change Management, vol. 27 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0953-4814

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 January 2009

John R. Dobson

The paper seeks to investigate the effects of the 2004 Central and East European EU Enlargement on labour mobility.

4182

Abstract

Purpose

The paper seeks to investigate the effects of the 2004 Central and East European EU Enlargement on labour mobility.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is based on an analysis of recently available empirical evidence from the UK Labour Registration Scheme and EU comparative data based on administrative data and labour force surveys.

Findings

Only Ireland, Austria and Germany had significant migration from CEE migration and none of these exceeded 2 per cent of the labour force. The imposition of a transitional arrangement had little effect on migration flows. CEE workers were predominantly young, had above average education and yet did not fill UK skills gaps, but filled labour shortages for low paid, unskilled work.

Originality/value

This paper assesses the empirical evidence on labour mobility from Central and Eastern Europe, which is used to assess the current highly contentious debate.

Details

Employee Relations, vol. 31 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0142-5455

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 September 2016

Jinqi Jiang, Guangsheng Zhang, Diming Qi and Mi Zhou

Whether training contributes to stabilizing employment among rural migrant workers in cities remains unclear. Based on this gap in the research, the purpose of this paper is to…

1295

Abstract

Purpose

Whether training contributes to stabilizing employment among rural migrant workers in cities remains unclear. Based on this gap in the research, the purpose of this paper is to examine how on-the-job training affects rural migrant workers’ job mobility in China.

Design/methodology/approach

By using randomly sampled survey data on migrant workers in Liaoning province in 2014, the authors applied a logistic model and survival analysis to explore the effect of on-the-job training on migrant workers’ job turnover and understand workers’ job change behaviour after receiving on-the-job training.

Findings

The results showed that job training provided by employers can significantly reduce migrant workers’ turnover by increasing specific human capital. By contrast, training provided by the government or migrant workers themselves focuses on increasing general human capital and thus fails to reduce job turnover. Moreover, further discussion revealed that, in the trained group, those people with a short tenure and low wage in the first job, people without any skills before migration, male migrant workers, and people that work in medium-sized and large cities have a higher probability of changing jobs. These findings suggest that to tackle the high rate of job mobility among rural migrant workers, firms should entice this labour to train by adjusting their internal training mechanisms, and local governments should subsidize firms that provide on-the-job training for rural migrant workers to help share the costs and risks of training. Moreover, for sake of reducing job changing among those trained workers, firms even should take actions to protect their labour rights of migrant workers and to ensure that they receive equal treatment to their urban counterparts.

Originality/value

This paper makes three contributions to the field of job mobility in China. First, it explores the mechanism between on-the-job training and rural migrant workers’ job mobility. Second, it empirically analyses the effect of on-the-job training on migrant workers’ job mobility as well as the different effects of general and specific training. Lastly, its results have important policy implications for the employment stability of rural migrant workers.

Details

China Agricultural Economic Review, vol. 8 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1756-137X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 January 1988

Geraint Johnes

Introduction Much concern has been expressed in recent years about the long‐run trend of unemployment in the UK. Abstracting from short‐run cyclical swings, the trend has been…

Abstract

Introduction Much concern has been expressed in recent years about the long‐run trend of unemployment in the UK. Abstracting from short‐run cyclical swings, the trend has been upwards for at least the last 20 years. The available evidence suggests that this trend has become more pronounced over time, so that by the mid‐1980s the long‐run equilibrium rate of unemployment was around eleven per cent. If the notion of the “non‐accelerating inflation rate of unemployment” is accepted — as it now is by most economists — this means that demand management policies alone can never restore the persistently low levels of unemployment enjoyed during the post‐war period. The main aim of labour market policies must be to act directly on the non‐accelerating inflation rate of unemployment (NAIRU) itself. Only thus can the long‐run trend be reversed.

Details

International Journal of Manpower, vol. 9 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7720

Book part
Publication date: 15 July 2020

Tracy Anderson and Martine R. Haas

How is the performance of a knowledge worker affected by the departure of a colleague? While prior research has highlighted the aggregate impact of knowledge worker mobility on…

Abstract

How is the performance of a knowledge worker affected by the departure of a colleague? While prior research has highlighted the aggregate impact of knowledge worker mobility on firms, in this chapter we look inside the firm, to explore the individual-level impact of a coworker's departure on the performance of a remaining employee. We propose that the departure of a coworker can change the remaining employee's access to knowledge, but the implications of such changes will depend on the nature of the coworker's relationship with the employee: the employee's performance will be negatively affected to the extent that the relationship is collaborative, but it will be positively affected to the extent that the relationship is competitive. Moreover, these effects will be magnified to the extent that the employee was dependent on the coworker for knowledge access prior to the move, but weakened to the extent that the relationship persists after the move. Our knowledge-based perspective on coworker departures advances research on employee mobility and knowledge flows by highlighting the variety of changes in knowledge access that may result when a colleague leaves the firm, and illuminating the implications of these changes for the performance of employees who remain behind.

Details

Employee Inter- and Intra-Firm Mobility
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78973-550-5

Article
Publication date: 28 September 2012

Jenny K. Rodriguez and Lesley Mearns

The purpose of this paper is to introduce the special issue by problematising labour agency, precariousness, and labour fragmentation as defining themes of the interplay between…

2844

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to introduce the special issue by problematising labour agency, precariousness, and labour fragmentation as defining themes of the interplay between employment relations, migration and mobility.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing from discussions about the impact of globalisation on changes in features of work and employment, and bringing together theory and research on employment relations and labour migration, the paper discusses the relational spatial and temporal nature of agency, the diverse features of worker experiences of precariousness, and the resulting fragmentation in labour solidarity.

Findings

Labour agency, precariousness and labour fragmentation intersect to create the axis of dynamics of hardship and abuse that dominate work experiences of migrant workers in the global labour market. Globalisation has a pervasive impact in articulating and perpetuating systemic processes of closure, entrapment and containment, which are triggered by migration and legitimised by dynamics of employment relations.

Originality/value

The paper contributes to current discussions about the interplay between migration, mobility and employment relations and sets out future directions of research to enhance our understanding of the role of employment relations to perpetuate, legitimise and normalise dynamics of globalisation that promote the migrant division of labour and create contradictory labour demands and displacements in the global labour market.

Details

Employee Relations, vol. 34 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0142-5455

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 11 March 2014

Caf Dowlah

The purpose of the paper is to examine convergence of economic interests – both empirically and theoretically – among labor-abundant (labor-sending) and labor scarce (labor…

1016

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of the paper is to examine convergence of economic interests – both empirically and theoretically – among labor-abundant (labor-sending) and labor scarce (labor receiving) countries, in the context of Mode 4 of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) of the WTO. The paper also explores regional trade associations as an interim alternative forum for promoting temporary cross-border labor mobility in the backdrop of failure of multilateral trade negotiations under the Doha Round.

Design/methodology/approach

The research methodology of the paper involves literature review, an analysis of databases and theoretical findings, and a critical examination of pertinent empirical and secondary information on the subject matter.

Findings

The findings reveal that although a convergence of economic interests seem to exist between the labor-sending and receiving countries for promoting cross-border labor mobility, this sector faces formidable trade and non-trade barriers across the world, especially in the developed countries. As multilateral trade negotiations under the Doha Round have failed to make any progress toward liberalization of this sector, regional trade associations, especially those pursued by the USA, Canada and Australia, seem to provide a credible alternative vehicle, as an interim measure, for further liberalization of this sector. These RTAs can serve as examples for other RTAs to promote regional mobility of labor.

Research limitations/implications

Cross-border temporary labor mobility, as envisaged by GATs of the WTO, is a burgeoning field. Although some serious works are available, especially sponsored by the World Bank and some leading universities, there is a considerable dearth in this field, especially in respect to contribution from individual scholars and researchers. This paper fills the void to some extent by ascertaining factors and forces that help or hinder cross-border mobility, by pointing out limitations of multilateral trade negotiations under the WTO, and by exploring the regional trade associations as an interim measure for promoting cross-border labor mobility.

Practical implications

This paper points out factors and forces that help or hinder cross-border mobility, ascertains crucial limitations of multilateral trade negotiations under the WTO, and explores the RTAs as an interim measure for promoting cross-border labor mobility – all these would have practical policy implications.

Originality/value

The originality of the paper lies with its critical and careful review of existing literature and available databases, with the determination of factors and forces that help or hinder cross-border mobility in the contemporary world, in pointing out the limitations of multilateral trade negotiations under the WTO, and in exploring the RTAs as an interim measure for promoting cross-border labor mobility.

Article
Publication date: 3 April 2018

Francieli Tonet Maciel and Ana Maria Hermeto C. Oliveira

The purpose of this paper is to discuss recent dynamics of the Brazilian labour market, by analysing occupational mobility patterns, specially the transitions between formal and…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to discuss recent dynamics of the Brazilian labour market, by analysing occupational mobility patterns, specially the transitions between formal and informal labour, and verify the earnings mobility resulting from these transitions, separately by gender.

Design/methodology/approach

The changes in the mobility patterns are analysed by performing an estimation of the transition probabilities between different occupational status between 2002 and 2012, using a multinomial logit model and the microdata from the Monthly Employment Survey (PME). The earnings mobility is analysed by using quantile regressions.

Findings

The results indicate a high degree of mobility from unemployment to formal employment in the period but suggest the persistence of mobility patterns. Women are better off in the period, but only among individuals with better attributes. The earnings mobility results, for women and men, suggest an increase in valuation of the formal labour relatively to informality (informal salaried employment and self-employment), especially at the bottom of the earnings distribution.

Originality/value

The paper contributes to a better understanding of recent changes in occupational mobility patterns between formal and informal labour and the earnings mobility underlying these patterns, accounting for the differences along the earnings distribution and gender issues. That is, it allows identify which groups of workers benefited more from the formalisation process to infer about trends in formal–informal dynamics over the period and discuss the challenges in conducting policies to promote inclusive and quality employment.

Details

International Journal of Development Issues, vol. 17 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1446-8956

Keywords

11 – 20 of over 16000