bas koene - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by bas koene

This book aims at explaining the variance in legal status, working conditions, social protection ... more This book aims at explaining the variance in legal status, working conditions, social protection and collective representation of self-employed professionals across Europe. Despite considerable diversity, the authors observe three strategic models of mobilisation: the provision of services; advocacy, lobbying and the political role; and the extension of collective bargaining. They highlight the new urgent challenges that have emerged including the implementation of universal social protection schemes, active labour market policies likely to support sustainable self-employment, and the renewal of social dialogue through bottom-up organisations to extend the collective representation of project-based professionals.Peer reviewe

The Challenges of Self-Employment in Europe, 2019

Chapter 4 presents an overview of the various regulatory and legal frameworks around self-employe... more Chapter 4 presents an overview of the various regulatory and legal frameworks around self-employed workers, the main institutional arrangements and a state of the art examination of social dialogue in each country case study. Nine European countries are covered (Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the UK), embodying different welfare state regimes and diverse models of labour market and profession regulation. The country studies present the same structure, which includes an analysis of the institutional framework, the public policies supporting self-employment and the emergent and innovative strategies of collective representation. The picture that emerges from the country studies is small reforms at the margin and great fragmentation of the measures implemented, accompanied by institutional experimentalism and some innovative strategies of collective representation, carried out by new actors in the industrial relations arena.

Alibaba has been heavily involved in financial innovations in China, offering services such as on... more Alibaba has been heavily involved in financial innovations in China, offering services such as online payment, online retail wealth management and purely online insurance through its daughter companies Alipay, Ant Financial, and others. Internet-driven finance innovation is a driving trend in China, as opposed to countries such as the USA and the UK where the likes of Google and Facebook are dominant Internet companies but are not heavily involved in internet-driven finance. Considering that the financial sector is highly regulated in China, Alibaba's role is ironic and heroic at the same time. Why are Alibaba’s Internet financial services innovative? What managerial challenges are there for an e-commerce company to run financial service? And what regulatory challenges are facing Alibaba? Who are competitors for Alibaba in this sector? What is the impact of Alibaba’s financial innovation on China’s financial system? How does big data analytics facilitate financial services? The ...

RSM Discovery - Management Knowledge, 2017

textabstractOrganisational change that is initiated by middle management rather than top manageme... more textabstractOrganisational change that is initiated by middle management rather than top management is more likely to gain employee support. This is the conclusion of a recent study co-authored by Bas Koene, assistant professor in RSM’s Department of Organisation and Personnel Management.

In the last decade the Dutch labour market has demonstrated an admirable capacity to generate job... more In the last decade the Dutch labour market has demonstrated an admirable capacity to generate jobs. Consequently, the unemployment rate has significantly decreased. However, the newly generated jobs are a-typical in the sense that they are not full-time jobs based on openended contracts. Instead, the job growth has relied on the growth of part-time and contingent jobs. While the creation of part-time jobs seems to be employee-driven, contingent employment, in contrast, seems to be driven by motives of employers to gain numerical flexibility. Data from the Netherlands show that, with the exception of student workers, contingent work is predominantly involuntary. This paper analyses the growth of contingent employment in the Netherlands.

Warehouses are held to performance level standards through service level agreements with their cu... more Warehouses are held to performance level standards through service level agreements with their customers. Most warehouse work involves repetitive, low-skilled and low-paid manual work that can sometimes lead to job-related strain. But labour markets, along with competitive and customer constraints, are tight. One of the biggest concerns of warehouse managers is therefore motivating and retaining their employees. Although at Fast Frock Fashion Logistics, employees are not penalized for not meeting performance targets, they are incentivized through a voluntary performance bonus scheme, REFA, to reach and exceed standard levels of performance. The voluntary programme is itself a source of debate within the company, as the two works councils have differing opinions about its use. One works council believes that supervisors use the system to pressure employees to over-perform, and that the company obtains disproportionately higher benefits from employees' good performance. The other ...

While Alibaba's growth from an apartment-sized company in 1999 to a company with the largest ... more While Alibaba's growth from an apartment-sized company in 1999 to a company with the largest IPO value in American history in 2014 can only be high-velocity, founder Jack Ma's taste for speed is relentless. Since early 2012 Alibaba Group has shifted gears and moved from organic growth and partnerships to high-speed growth by M&As in complementary technology fields. It has been expanding in finance, healthcare, travel and even movie making. Is it necessary for Alibaba to expand so aggressively? Is this seemingly “reckless" expansion really a lack of focus? What growth strategies work well for companies in emerging economies? How to compare the relative advantages of the different growth models – organic, collaboration and M&A? How does the business environment influence possible growth strategies – growing by diversification or focus on the core business? What are the key challenges for such high-speed growth? How do M&As lead to value creation for Alibaba?

Flying Parts, a mid-sized European component parts manufacturer for the aerospace industry, imple... more Flying Parts, a mid-sized European component parts manufacturer for the aerospace industry, implemented a range of new technologies in the early 2000's when it become a Tier 1 subcontractor. The implementation of these new technologies triggered an organisational transformation: jobs and roles were redefined, a team structure replaced a hierarchical one, selected lean principle were introduced to increase quality and productvity, and employees became directly implicated in problem-solving, decision-making and innovation. Although absent from the company prior to these innovations, union clubs were invited by employees and welcomed by management when these transformation occurred. This company's successful transformation in becoming a Tier 1 subcontractor is described. This case briefly examines this innovations - technological, process and organisational - that were implemented in the company, as well as their impact on specific employee groups and the organisations as a whole.

In May, 2017, Paul Beaumont, CEO of Concord Credit Union, one of the largest Euorpean credit unio... more In May, 2017, Paul Beaumont, CEO of Concord Credit Union, one of the largest Euorpean credit unions, or mutualist banks, reflected on how the current evolution of the banking industry would affect his institution. Faced with increased regulation, the need for cost-cutting, industry overcapacity, rapid growth among non-traditional competitors, and increasing customer demands for flexible and digital options, retail banks were navigating uncertain industrial terrain, and needed to decide which would be the surest path for their long-term future. Few banks, if any, had a clear strategic vision. After years of developing increasingly complex products and services, with the resulting financial crisis and subsequent tightening of regulations, banks were now once again focusing their growth efforts on the customer. Restructuring was a given, but how? As a credit union, Concord Credit Union (CCU) was owned and operated by its customers; its mandate was one of solvency and high customer service levels, rather than high profitability, as with most other banks. CCU customers belonged to the traditional side of the banking spectrum, demanding digital options while retaining the need for physical contact with representatives from the bank. But what about the next generation of customers? Growth was now intrinsically linked to a digital offering, much more than to a physical footprint of offices, as had been the case only a few decades ago. How should Beaumont approach the wave-pool of technology before him? The choices he made for the bank's long-term growth would have an immediate impact on his employees, who were also customers and owners of the bank. Which path would he choose, and what would this mean for his company and his employees? Any choice would be a bet on the future.

Martin Fischer, CEO of Fast Frock Fashion Logistics, was preparing for a tough meeting. Seven yea... more Martin Fischer, CEO of Fast Frock Fashion Logistics, was preparing for a tough meeting. Seven years ago, his employees had made significant wage concessions to allow the company to invest in automation and new technologies to build its future. But the company had never made the expected investments, and some employee groups were demanding payback. Fast Frock had initially been the internal logistics unit of a large European retail fashion holding, but had been spun off in 2006 as a separate, wholly-owned, third-party logistics (3PL) subsidiary. Automation had become prevalent in the logistics industry, primarily to increase throughput speed and traceability, and to reduce error rates; but demands for customized services from Fast Frock's fashion retail customers, as well as high costs of investment, meant that Fast Frock, as many of its competitors, was still highly reliant on manpower. Warehouse workers faced unpredictable schedules of highly variable hours doing often repetitive tasks for low wages. Automation had, to some extent, further impoverished working conditions. Fast Frock's current employee performance bonus system was scheduled for an update next week with the input of employee representatives. They would likely bring up all employee-related topics, so Fischer had to go prepared with ideas and arguments. He was currently reassessing employee motivation schemes, manpower planning options and possibilities for further investment in new technologies. With the threat of an employee strike looming, he had to find the right solutions before it was too late.

The case presents Bence Kovacs, a long-term assistant of the CEO of Gyermely Zrt., was contemplat... more The case presents Bence Kovacs, a long-term assistant of the CEO of Gyermely Zrt., was contemplating an acquisition proposal from a private equity group. The Acquisition proposal provides the educational vehicle to evaluate the the key social, technological and managerial-organizational innovations at the heart of Gyermely’s success. Technological advancement throughout the value chain has been a critical driver to stay competitive in the agrifood industry since as early as 1980s. With the adaption of the forefront technologies particularly in its raw material production and logistics, the Hungarian past manufacturer Gyermely Zrt. was facing an increasing need for the skills and expertise from their employees. While replacing old employees with those with the applicable skills may be a temporal solution, this will not ensure the continual supply of the human resources. With its corporate foundation embedded deeply in the Gyermely village, the company had also been supportive of the development of the labour market of the village and the neighbouring regions through collaboration with the local governmental authorities and schools. The company had also distributed the ownership amongst the employees and the management so as to involve them in the company’s critical decision making as well as to ensure their long-term commitment. Having a strong belief that the company should remain in the hands of its current employees and management, the CEO and his long-term assistant Bence Kovacs were preparing a presentation of Gyermely’s history, corporate milestones highlighting the key social, technological and managerial-organizational innovations at the heart of Gyermely’s success.

This book aims at explaining the variance in legal status, working conditions, social protection ... more This book aims at explaining the variance in legal status, working conditions, social protection and collective representation of self-employed professionals across Europe. Despite considerable diversity, the authors observe three strategic models of mobilisation: the provision of services; advocacy, lobbying and the political role; and the extension of collective bargaining. They highlight the new urgent challenges that have emerged including the implementation of universal social protection schemes, active labour market policies likely to support sustainable self-employment, and the renewal of social dialogue through bottom-up organisations to extend the collective representation of project-based professionals.Peer reviewe

The Challenges of Self-Employment in Europe, 2019

Chapter 4 presents an overview of the various regulatory and legal frameworks around self-employe... more Chapter 4 presents an overview of the various regulatory and legal frameworks around self-employed workers, the main institutional arrangements and a state of the art examination of social dialogue in each country case study. Nine European countries are covered (Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the UK), embodying different welfare state regimes and diverse models of labour market and profession regulation. The country studies present the same structure, which includes an analysis of the institutional framework, the public policies supporting self-employment and the emergent and innovative strategies of collective representation. The picture that emerges from the country studies is small reforms at the margin and great fragmentation of the measures implemented, accompanied by institutional experimentalism and some innovative strategies of collective representation, carried out by new actors in the industrial relations arena.

Alibaba has been heavily involved in financial innovations in China, offering services such as on... more Alibaba has been heavily involved in financial innovations in China, offering services such as online payment, online retail wealth management and purely online insurance through its daughter companies Alipay, Ant Financial, and others. Internet-driven finance innovation is a driving trend in China, as opposed to countries such as the USA and the UK where the likes of Google and Facebook are dominant Internet companies but are not heavily involved in internet-driven finance. Considering that the financial sector is highly regulated in China, Alibaba's role is ironic and heroic at the same time. Why are Alibaba’s Internet financial services innovative? What managerial challenges are there for an e-commerce company to run financial service? And what regulatory challenges are facing Alibaba? Who are competitors for Alibaba in this sector? What is the impact of Alibaba’s financial innovation on China’s financial system? How does big data analytics facilitate financial services? The ...

RSM Discovery - Management Knowledge, 2017

textabstractOrganisational change that is initiated by middle management rather than top manageme... more textabstractOrganisational change that is initiated by middle management rather than top management is more likely to gain employee support. This is the conclusion of a recent study co-authored by Bas Koene, assistant professor in RSM’s Department of Organisation and Personnel Management.

In the last decade the Dutch labour market has demonstrated an admirable capacity to generate job... more In the last decade the Dutch labour market has demonstrated an admirable capacity to generate jobs. Consequently, the unemployment rate has significantly decreased. However, the newly generated jobs are a-typical in the sense that they are not full-time jobs based on openended contracts. Instead, the job growth has relied on the growth of part-time and contingent jobs. While the creation of part-time jobs seems to be employee-driven, contingent employment, in contrast, seems to be driven by motives of employers to gain numerical flexibility. Data from the Netherlands show that, with the exception of student workers, contingent work is predominantly involuntary. This paper analyses the growth of contingent employment in the Netherlands.

Warehouses are held to performance level standards through service level agreements with their cu... more Warehouses are held to performance level standards through service level agreements with their customers. Most warehouse work involves repetitive, low-skilled and low-paid manual work that can sometimes lead to job-related strain. But labour markets, along with competitive and customer constraints, are tight. One of the biggest concerns of warehouse managers is therefore motivating and retaining their employees. Although at Fast Frock Fashion Logistics, employees are not penalized for not meeting performance targets, they are incentivized through a voluntary performance bonus scheme, REFA, to reach and exceed standard levels of performance. The voluntary programme is itself a source of debate within the company, as the two works councils have differing opinions about its use. One works council believes that supervisors use the system to pressure employees to over-perform, and that the company obtains disproportionately higher benefits from employees' good performance. The other ...

While Alibaba's growth from an apartment-sized company in 1999 to a company with the largest ... more While Alibaba's growth from an apartment-sized company in 1999 to a company with the largest IPO value in American history in 2014 can only be high-velocity, founder Jack Ma's taste for speed is relentless. Since early 2012 Alibaba Group has shifted gears and moved from organic growth and partnerships to high-speed growth by M&As in complementary technology fields. It has been expanding in finance, healthcare, travel and even movie making. Is it necessary for Alibaba to expand so aggressively? Is this seemingly “reckless" expansion really a lack of focus? What growth strategies work well for companies in emerging economies? How to compare the relative advantages of the different growth models – organic, collaboration and M&A? How does the business environment influence possible growth strategies – growing by diversification or focus on the core business? What are the key challenges for such high-speed growth? How do M&As lead to value creation for Alibaba?

Flying Parts, a mid-sized European component parts manufacturer for the aerospace industry, imple... more Flying Parts, a mid-sized European component parts manufacturer for the aerospace industry, implemented a range of new technologies in the early 2000's when it become a Tier 1 subcontractor. The implementation of these new technologies triggered an organisational transformation: jobs and roles were redefined, a team structure replaced a hierarchical one, selected lean principle were introduced to increase quality and productvity, and employees became directly implicated in problem-solving, decision-making and innovation. Although absent from the company prior to these innovations, union clubs were invited by employees and welcomed by management when these transformation occurred. This company's successful transformation in becoming a Tier 1 subcontractor is described. This case briefly examines this innovations - technological, process and organisational - that were implemented in the company, as well as their impact on specific employee groups and the organisations as a whole.

In May, 2017, Paul Beaumont, CEO of Concord Credit Union, one of the largest Euorpean credit unio... more In May, 2017, Paul Beaumont, CEO of Concord Credit Union, one of the largest Euorpean credit unions, or mutualist banks, reflected on how the current evolution of the banking industry would affect his institution. Faced with increased regulation, the need for cost-cutting, industry overcapacity, rapid growth among non-traditional competitors, and increasing customer demands for flexible and digital options, retail banks were navigating uncertain industrial terrain, and needed to decide which would be the surest path for their long-term future. Few banks, if any, had a clear strategic vision. After years of developing increasingly complex products and services, with the resulting financial crisis and subsequent tightening of regulations, banks were now once again focusing their growth efforts on the customer. Restructuring was a given, but how? As a credit union, Concord Credit Union (CCU) was owned and operated by its customers; its mandate was one of solvency and high customer service levels, rather than high profitability, as with most other banks. CCU customers belonged to the traditional side of the banking spectrum, demanding digital options while retaining the need for physical contact with representatives from the bank. But what about the next generation of customers? Growth was now intrinsically linked to a digital offering, much more than to a physical footprint of offices, as had been the case only a few decades ago. How should Beaumont approach the wave-pool of technology before him? The choices he made for the bank's long-term growth would have an immediate impact on his employees, who were also customers and owners of the bank. Which path would he choose, and what would this mean for his company and his employees? Any choice would be a bet on the future.

Martin Fischer, CEO of Fast Frock Fashion Logistics, was preparing for a tough meeting. Seven yea... more Martin Fischer, CEO of Fast Frock Fashion Logistics, was preparing for a tough meeting. Seven years ago, his employees had made significant wage concessions to allow the company to invest in automation and new technologies to build its future. But the company had never made the expected investments, and some employee groups were demanding payback. Fast Frock had initially been the internal logistics unit of a large European retail fashion holding, but had been spun off in 2006 as a separate, wholly-owned, third-party logistics (3PL) subsidiary. Automation had become prevalent in the logistics industry, primarily to increase throughput speed and traceability, and to reduce error rates; but demands for customized services from Fast Frock's fashion retail customers, as well as high costs of investment, meant that Fast Frock, as many of its competitors, was still highly reliant on manpower. Warehouse workers faced unpredictable schedules of highly variable hours doing often repetitive tasks for low wages. Automation had, to some extent, further impoverished working conditions. Fast Frock's current employee performance bonus system was scheduled for an update next week with the input of employee representatives. They would likely bring up all employee-related topics, so Fischer had to go prepared with ideas and arguments. He was currently reassessing employee motivation schemes, manpower planning options and possibilities for further investment in new technologies. With the threat of an employee strike looming, he had to find the right solutions before it was too late.

The case presents Bence Kovacs, a long-term assistant of the CEO of Gyermely Zrt., was contemplat... more The case presents Bence Kovacs, a long-term assistant of the CEO of Gyermely Zrt., was contemplating an acquisition proposal from a private equity group. The Acquisition proposal provides the educational vehicle to evaluate the the key social, technological and managerial-organizational innovations at the heart of Gyermely’s success. Technological advancement throughout the value chain has been a critical driver to stay competitive in the agrifood industry since as early as 1980s. With the adaption of the forefront technologies particularly in its raw material production and logistics, the Hungarian past manufacturer Gyermely Zrt. was facing an increasing need for the skills and expertise from their employees. While replacing old employees with those with the applicable skills may be a temporal solution, this will not ensure the continual supply of the human resources. With its corporate foundation embedded deeply in the Gyermely village, the company had also been supportive of the development of the labour market of the village and the neighbouring regions through collaboration with the local governmental authorities and schools. The company had also distributed the ownership amongst the employees and the management so as to involve them in the company’s critical decision making as well as to ensure their long-term commitment. Having a strong belief that the company should remain in the hands of its current employees and management, the CEO and his long-term assistant Bence Kovacs were preparing a presentation of Gyermely’s history, corporate milestones highlighting the key social, technological and managerial-organizational innovations at the heart of Gyermely’s success.