Exploring the diversity of small firms, this contributed volume focuses on the crucial topic of work and the ways in which it is regulated, and offers reflections on the future of labour more generally. Traditionally managed through informal and adaptive processes, small firms allow us to understand the challenges and opportunities facing larger companies within an increasingly fragmented global production system. Analysing the case of Italy, a country characterised by a high number and wide variety of small firms, the authors draw on the results of a survey involving over 2,300 firms and face-to-face interviews with owner-managers working in 60 small and micro firms across several different sectors. Providing detailed analysis which will be useful for scholars of human resource management and small business, as well as managers, practitioners and policy-makers, the book enables a better understanding of the world of work in a globalised economy.

Ida Regalia is a Professor of Economic Sociology and Comparative Industrial Relations at the University of Milan, Italy.

1;Preface;5 2;Contents;11 3;Notes on Contributors;13 4;List of Figures;16 5;List of Tables;17 6;Part I Introduction;18 7;1 Regulating Work in Times of Productive Fragmentation;19 7.1;The Growing Importance of Small Businesses;22 7.2;What We Know About Our Topic;26 7.3;Beyond the Fordist Model of Employment Relations;33 7.4;How to Read This Book;36 7.5;Appendix;39 7.6;References;41 8;Part II An Empirical Exploration;46 9;2 Employment Relations in Small Italian Firms: An Overview;47 9.1;An Economy of Small Firms with Strong Territorial Ties;48 9.2;A Dense, Flexible and Highly Informal System of Labour Regulation;53 9.3;Small Enterprises: How Are They Characterised?;57 9.3.1;Structural Characteristics;57 9.3.2;Productive and Market Characteristics;59 9.3.3;In Summary: Economic and Occupational Performance;62 9.4;Actors, Agency: Employers, Workers and Their Organisation;63 9.4.1;Employers and Employers' Associations;64 9.4.2;Workers, Trade Union Membership, Workplace Representation;66 9.5;Work and Working Conditions: How Do People Work in Small Firms?;68 9.5.1;Recruitment;68 9.5.2;External or Numerical Flexibility;69 9.5.2.1;Non-standard Contracts of Employment;70 9.5.2.2;Outsourcing of Production Phases;71 9.5.3;Internal Flexibility;72 9.5.3.1;Working Hours;72 9.5.3.2;Organisation of Work;75 9.5.4;Training;78 9.6;Employment Relations in the Workplace;80 9.6.1;Processes;80 9.6.1.1;Owners/Managers: Decisional Processes;80 9.6.1.2;Workers: Direct Contacts and Protest;84 9.6.1.3;Collective Bargaining;86 9.6.2;Outcomes;87 9.6.2.1;Bonuses and Other Forms of Compensation;87 9.6.2.2;Bargaining Issues;88 9.6.2.3;Company Welfare and Measures to Reconcile Life and Work;89 9.7;Firms' Internal and External Employment Relations;91 9.7.1;Contacts with Trade Unions Outside the Firm;92 9.7.2;Participation in Bilateral Bodies;94 9.7.3;Relationships with Local Institutions;97 9.8;To Conclude: An Overall Assessment;100 9.9;References;104 10;3 Small Firms and the Labour Market;108 10.1;Between the In- and the Outside: The Labour Markets of Small Firms;111 10.1.1;Recruitment;111 10.1.2;Training;118 10.1.3;Employment Contracts and Internal Flexibility;123 10.1.4;Dismissals and Turnover;132 10.2;Conclusions;139 10.3;References;141 11;4 The Regulation of Employment Relationships at the Enterprise;144 11.1;Patterns of Regulation;147 11.1.1;"A Reference Point": The Role of Sectoral Collective Bargaining;147 11.1.2;The Management of Specific Aspects of the Employment Relation;152 11.2;Wage, Bonuses, and Incentives;153 11.3;Work Organisation- and Task-Related Issues;156 11.4;Working Time;158 11.5;Training;160 11.6;Factors Influencing Patterns of Regulation;161 11.7;Conclusions;168 11.8;References;172 12;5 Small Firms and the External Context: Embeddedness Versus Dependency;177 12.1;A Complex Network of Inter-institutional Relationships;179 12.1.1;Public Policy and Collective Bargaining;179 12.1.2;Regional and Local Governments;185 12.1.3;The Actors of Industrial Relations;190 12.1.4;Other Actors;196 12.2;The "Disputed" Arena of Labour Regulation;201 12.3;Conclusions;206 12.4;References;211 13;Part III Conclusions;214 14;6 Prospects for Employment Relations: Between Informal and Formal and Inside and Outside;215 14.1;Does It Still Make Sense to Talk of Small Firms?;215 14.2;A Plurality of Patterns and Outcomes;218 14.3;Informality and Formality;224 14.4;Between Inside and Outside;228 14.5;Beyond the Small Firm;232 14.6;For a New Perspective on Employment Relations;239 14.7;References;244 15;Index;247