Does size matter?: employment relations in small firms

Deposited with permission of the author. © 2000 Dr. Rowena Joy Barrett.In this thesis an integrated approach to analysing small In this thesis an integrated approach to analysing small firm employment relations is proposed and used to investigate the image of industrial harmony in small firms. This approach accommodates small firm heterogeneity, provides an analytical framework for ordering the effect of a range of factors (not simply size) on employment relations, and incorporates a dialectical relationship between structure and agency. In Chapters 2 and 3 some of the key theoretical and methodological gaps in small firm research, particularly their employment relations, are highlighted. At the conclusion of Chapter 2, it is suggested that an analysis of small firm employment relations must start with the totality of economic and social relations in a particular sector, and its contradictory constituents, rather than the small firm per se. Rainnie’s (1989) heuristic device, drawing upon Marxist theory of combined and uneven development, is adopted to accommodate small firm heterogeneity. After reviewing studies of small firm industrial relations and human resource management, it is argued, in Chapter 3, that by incorporating the dialectical relationship between structure and agency with a labour process analysis, an explanation for why ‘industrial harmony’ appears to typify small firm employment relations can be sought. As such the integrated approach is applied to small firms operating in the software development sector of the information industry. In Chapter 4, some characteristics of the information industry in Australia are outlined in order to provide a context and rationale for more specifically focussing (in Chapter 5) on the nature of software development work, its organisation, and the strategies used to manage employment relations. A consideration is given to issues surrounding the management of software developers, while the distinction between primary and secondary software products is used to elaborate the contradictory trends in strategies to control the software development labour process. The critical social science basis of this integrated approach is discussed in Chapter 6, while the rationale for using multiple, complementary, quantitative and qualitative research methods is also elaborated. In Chapter 7, the structures within which employment relations are managed in the information industry are outlined using the results of a survey (N = 206). Where possible the data are analysed to draw out the effects of size, ownership characteristics, product market conditions and management style on the management of employment relations. Chapters 8 and 9 contain the detailed case studies of two small software development firms. In both cases, structure and agency are addressed and therefore the firm's development, product and labour market positions, type of work performed and by whom, how employment relations are managed and the workers' response are all explored. These two firms offer a number of points for comparison and contrast and in Chapter l0 a cross case analysis is conducted. Findings from this study are compared with others and future avenues for inquiry are suggested, while implications of the approach and findings for future small firm employment relations policy and research are addressed