Double-breasting employee voice: An assessment of motives, arrangements and durability

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  • T. Dundon
  • N. Cullinane
  • J. Donaghey
  • A. Dobbins
  • A. Wilkinson
  • E. Hickland
This article explores employee voice within the specific institutional arrangement of double-breasting. Double-breasting is when multi-plant organizations recognize trade unions in some company sites, with non-union arrangements at other company plants, or where a unionized firm acquires a new site that it then operates on a non-union basis. We examine three research questions in four separate case study organizations that operate employee voice double-breasting arrangements across 16 workplace locations on the island of Ireland. These questions consider employer motives for double-breasting, the practices that characterize double-breasting employee voice, and the micro-political implications of double-breasting. The article contributes to knowledge on the emergence and impact of double-breasting and employee voice systems. We subsequently advance two theoretical propositions: the first theorizing employer motives for double-breasting, and the second explaining the extent to which the practice of double-breasting is durable over time.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)489-513
JournalHuman Relations
Volume68
Issue number3
Early online date19 Jun 2014
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2015
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