Contingent Employment in British Establishments: Organizational Determinants of the Use of Fixed-Term Hires and Part-Time Workers

Abstract

Drawing on ILM, HRM, and new structuralist perspectives, we examine how organizational-based factors influence the intensity of two types of contingent worker use, fixed-duration contract hires and part-time employees, using a representative sample of UK establishments. Consistent with an organizational-based perspective, we find that the use of contingent workers depends on organizational-level structures which facilitate or inhibit the adoption of flexible employment strategies. Findings suggest that while firms seek to reduce their costs and increase their flexibility, their ability to capitalize on flexible employment systems depends heavily on organizational characteristics such as organization size and age, the quality of management-labor relations, governance structures, the organization of work, job control technology, and recruitment options that can promote or derail such use.

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