The (Not Entirely) Financialized Enterprise - A Conceptual Proposal (original) (raw)
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HSR_44-1-2019_Faust-Kädtler_The not Entirely Financialized Enterprised - A Conceptual Proposal.pdf
Historical Social Research , 2019
»Das (nicht ganz) finanzialisierte Unternehmen. Ein konzeptioneller Vorschlag«. Against the background of financialization being applied as a sort of catch-all category for corporate reorganization and especially the deterioration of labor and working conditions the paper presents the concept of the “multi-referential enterprise.“ Capital market expectations put established labor relations under a new pressure, but competing ideas remain relevant as a reference in both institutional reform processes and everyday decision making at firm level, including labor relations. Respective power positions also depend on rights anchored in labor law, collective bargaining, and labor market regulations as well as on what happens to sources of primary power of the respective workforce due to labor market conditions, technological change, and pressures from value chain reorganization and globalization. Hence, what unions and works councils eventually have to concede in negotiations is not just a matter of the degree of financialization but of a variety of other structurations of the field and respective companies.
Financialization and labor discipline in contemporary capitalism
Purpose-Drawing upon a political economy approach, this article aims to analyze the transformations in the labor market within the context of contemporary capitalism, focusing on the phenomenon of financialization. Design/methodology/approach-Financialization is defined as a distinct wealth pattern marked by a growing proportion of financial assets in capitalist wealth. Within financial markets, corporate performance is continuously assessed, in a process that disciplines management to achieve expected financial results, with consequences throughout corporate management. Findings-We find that this phenomenon has implications for labor management, resulting in the intensification of labor processes and the adoption of insecure forms of employment, leading to the fractalization of work. These two mechanisms, added to the indebtedness of workers, constitute three elements for disciplining labor in contemporary capitalism. Originality/value-We argue that these forms of discipline constitute a subsumption of labor to finance, resulting in an increase in labor exploitation. This formulation of the relationship between financialization and changes in the realm of labor also contributes to understanding the unrealizing potential of social free time in contemporary capitalism.
Labor Law as a Base for Firms' Organization
2019
»Das Arbeitsrecht als die Grundlage für die Unternehmensorganisation«. This contribution explores the relation between labor law and organizations in a historical and institutional perspective based on the French case. The adoption of labor law transforms the articulation between commodity exchanges and production activities. Initially, commodity markets were considered as the main test for the capacity of products to find a social utility that conditioned the level of production activities taken in charge by contractors. Labor law has contributed to a renewed conception of production as organized labor, i.e., a specific activity distinct from the other activities of individuals (e.g., family life, leisure). Recruitment and career opportunities become the main test situation for individuals, conditioning their access to occupations and resources for buying the very commodities they make. But, the renewal of corporate governance is undermining this organizational significance of labor law and valuing restructuring, lay-offs, and entrepreneurship, in order to restore market mechanisms.
Journal of Industrial Relations, 2017
This article addresses two questions about the standard employment relationship that have become prominent in labour law literature: Does it exacerbate inequality? Is its decline inevitable? The focus is on the second question and emphasizes the extent to which the standard employment relationship was both embedded in, and the outcome of, an institutional ensemble that was fashioned out of the postwar capital-labour compromise in industrialized democracies. The analysis proceeds in three steps. The first is conceptual and stresses the distinctive nature of labour as a fictive commodity, and the recurring regulatory dilemmas that arise in any attempt to institutionalize a labour market. The second step historicizes and contextualizes the employment relationship , emphasizing politics and conflict (power resource theory) over rational choice and coordination (new institutional economics) as the basis for its institutionalization. The emphasis on politics, power and labour leads to the third step, which focuses on how the broad process of financialization influences three key institutions-the large manufacturing firm, the democratic welfare state and autonomous trade unions-that have been crucial for the development of the standard employment relationship.
Labour law and new forms of corporate organization
1 This article is based on a presentation given at a round-table discussion during the seventeenth Congress of the International Association for Labour Law, held at Montevideo on 25 September 2003. It draws on the findings of empirical research conducted in France and Europe-wide by the
FINANCIAL STRUCTURE , CORPORATE GOVERNANCE , AND THE MANAGEMENT OF LABOR By Howard Gospel and
2001
This article explores linkages between the firm’s financial structure, corporate governance, and the management of labor. It reviews various literatures, in particular drawing from Financial Economics, Industrial Relations, and Human Resource Management, to investigate a set of potential linkages. Two ideal types in terms of marketand relational-based financing and outsiderand insider-based governance systems are highlighted. These are then used to examine labor management in three areas employment relations, work relations, and industrial relations. The approach is applied to major features of labor management, especially in the US, Great Britain, Germany, and Japan. 1 Howard Gospel, (Corresponding Author), King's College, University of London. Corresponding address: The Management Centre, King's College London, Franklin-Wilkins Building, 150 Stamford Street, London, SE1 9NN, United Kingdom. Tel/Fax: +44-(0)20-7848 4121, Email: howard.gospel@kcl.ac.uk 2 ANDREW PENDLETON, Ma...
Workplace relations, unemployment and finance-dominated capitalism
This paper considers the interconnections between the nature and organization of work and the level of unemployment. We consider how actions taken at the workplace level can impede as well as facilitate the reduction in unemployment. We also consider how the workplace may be reformed to overcome some of the obstacles, economic as well as political, to full employment. Finally, we examine the impacts of the current finance-dominated capitalism on work organization and workers. Our view is that financialization represents a major barrier to full employment, not only because of its tendency to limit real investment but also because of its negative effects on the bargaining power of workers.