This project opens up insights into the social processes colouring labour relations in developing microstates. It purports to explore how worker behaviour in very small, often island, developing countries unfolds in circumstances prone also to influences resulting from the condition of smallness. The thesis' main intended contribution is therefore an alertness to the plausibility and heuristic usefulness of a smallness perspective towards a better understanding of microstate labour dynamics in particular. The research design adopted is reflexively critical. It confronts the theories and epithets surrounding the developing microstate, constructing a home grown, conceptual framework and methodological regime. This sensitises research to the often unacknowledged, behavioural dynamics which 'infect' labour formation and labour-management relations in these territories. The method of investigation comprises a resort to multiple data sourcing. A literature audit is complemented by 4 case studies. These involve: Transnationally comparable employment and labour relations settings emergent from semi-structured interview scripts; encounters with fellow microstate academics; and an autobiographical ethnography. The material is organised a follows: The research question is first set up and the applied methodology problematised (Chapter 1) . Next is a review of development theory, with the proposal of an alternative explanation of microstate 'development' strategies, subsequently applied to the experiences of Malta (my country) and Barbados (Chapter 2). The construction of a microstate labour syndrome follows, with the explanatory and organising potential of a typology revolving around the conditions of intimacy, totality and monopoly (Chapter 3). These leitmotifs are then tested out: First, in the context of labour relations in two microstate hotels (Chapter 4); secondly, with respect to the behaviour and perceptions of microstate campus academic staff; lastly, in relation to the self as microstate academic (Chapter 5). The conclusion serves as a synthesis as well as an opportunity to appraise the implications of the results (Chapter 6).

This thesis analyses the role of commitment in bargaining. Chapter 1 looks at how players could use finite length commitment to affect the bargaining model in a multiperiod model. The idea of this is to complement the existing literature on infinite length commitment. In line with the infinite commitment literature, a rational player can mimic a commitment type to gain a considerable advantage, although, as will be seen, there are key differences. Chapter 2 analyses whether one should take the opportunity to commit oneself when the opponent does not perfectly observe the decision taken. Logically, if one’s opponent sees no difference between a bluff and actual commitment then one may as well bluff, since the opponent acts the same and committing is a needless sacrifice of freedom. When the opponent may discover a bluff as such, the situation is far less clear and this Chapter analyses when a commitment outcome is likely to prevail. Chapter 3 takes a rather different approach and analyses how hard one should negotiate when there are other parties who may enter the deal. The general finding is that one should follow the crowd and act the same way as everyone else. All three chapters heavily use the mathematical tool of game theory. However, while Chapter 1 uses non-cooperative game theory, the analysis of Chapters 2 and 3 primarily use evolutionary game theory.

The purpose of this research was to investigate the complex relationship between reward systems and organisation culture. Concepts and theory from organisational culture literature as well as an initial grounded theory exercise were used to develop the theoretical framework that underpins this study. To avoid potential bias towards a managerial-only agenda and to deepen the cultural analysis, Martin’s (2002) three perspectives of culture were used together with methodological principles drawn from Gregory (1983), Eisenhardt (1989) and the various cultural studies of Ogbonna (Ogbonna and Harris, 2002a, Ogbonna and Wilkinson, 2003). The research design is interpretivist and inductive and, as such, is different in approach from many reward studies, which are primarily positivist. The aim was to collect in-depth rich data. They are derived from 4 UK case study organisations, with data collected from both employees at all levels and managers. The data are analysed manually using principles of grounded theory (Charmaz, 2006) to draw out categories and to aid theory development. Deploying broadly cultural and sociological concepts and forms of analysis to study reward systems in the four organisations, the study reveals more nuanced interpretations in comparison with reward research purely from the employer or managerial viewpoints. Analysing sub-cultural and fragmentary cultural attributes it offers a contextualised picture of the connections between concepts that are usually thought of as distinctly different– internal and external equity, fairness, transparency, procedural and distributive justice. The results of the study indicate that the relationship between reward and culture is subtle, intricate and overlapping. They suggest reward and culture are not separate variables whose association can be measured. Rather cultural values both fine tune (drawing on Swidler, 1986) employee reactions to reward practices and the experience of reward practices also reciprocally influences and reinforces cultural values - but only to a certain extent. The nature of the service or product of the organisation feeds into the shaping of values in relation to reward, but feeder or occupational cultures are more important than either the product/service or the reward system. This thesis contributes to the reward and culture literature by applying social science cultural concepts to the analysis of reward. It also develops a fine tuning model of culture and reward. It thereby extends the sociological and cultural strand of reward research that has been underdeveloped in recent decades.

The purpose of this research is to contribute to the understanding of product development processes within dispersed business-to-business networks that involve business actors in China. This research investigates how these processes initiate and evolve in a dynamic environment. More specifically, it examines the impact of culture in terms of interpersonal interactive relationships on the formation and development of product development processes. It investigates what is in the shadow of direct resource interface development and explains that an analysis of relationship processes in China can be inspirational for theoretical developments. The Actors-Resources-Activities (ARA) model of interaction (Hakansson & Snehota 1995) of the business network paradigm is employed to analyse relationship patterns in low, medium and high-tech product development networks, in terms of actor bonds, resource ties and activity links. Although analyses of the case studies show that there seem to be difficulties for the ARA model to capture and interpret what is in the ‘shadow’ of direct business interaction processes in China, the main solution is drawn from acknowledging the significance of both the business network and the guanxi network approaches as parallel mechanisms or cross-cutting patterns of explaining evolution of business relationships. This research highlights how an Industrial Marketing and Purchasing (IMP) approach can be useful to interpret interaction processes in China and argues that the business network approach and IMP thinking, in general, can be enriched by accounting for the empirical phenomenon of guanxi, which manifests in both business and non-business interactive processes. Guanxi networks take on a new perspective as they are viewed and analysed from a dynamic lens under product development contexts. In particular, the emergence and refinement of the concept of guanxi as ‘process of interaction’ or ‘process of organization’ has been a crucial element in the development of IMP thinking. Managerial lessons are drawn by analysing how actors’ interactions influence product and technology co-creation, and how business actors nurture, develop and maintain relationships in China. Findings show that non-business interactive processes at the interpersonal network level influence significantly the formation of activity links, resource interfaces and actor bonds at the inter-organisational level. Hence, accounting for non-business interaction and the socio-cultural features in nurturing, developing and maintaining relationships offers a complimentary approach to contemporary business network research practice.

The social housing sector contains the largest number of professionally managed properties and as such has a significant role to play in improving the UK’s economic, environmental and social sustainability. This thesis explores the viability of integrating the sustainability agenda with social housing maintenance decision making in order that the sustainability of existing social housing stock can be improved through planned maintenance (and refurbishment). The thesis presents the argument that the current single criterion, conditioned based approach to maintenance planning does not support the continuous improvement in sustainability of social housing. Furthermore it argues that a new, multi-criteria approach to maintenance planning is needed based upon the performance of a home in-use rather than its condition. The performance based sustainable social housing maintenance model was presented and its application explored with Octavia Housing. Two aspects were further explored, firstly what criteria did landlords need to assess to ensure sustainability was systematically integrated into maintenance planning, and secondly, how could this multi-criteria be assimilated in order to prioritise maintenance actions to improve the sustainability rating of housing going forward. The questionnaire determined that traditional social housing maintenance was still the norm and whilst the sustainability agenda was considered important, it wasn’t integrated within housing management planning. The interviews determined the criteria landlords wished to use to assess the sustainability of their housing stock and prioritise maintenance need, exceeded that expressed in the Decent Homes Standard but, more importantly the specific criteria was unique to individual landlords and no definitive list of criteria required. The case study demonstrated that the proposed maintenance model could be implemented and presented a methodology by which it could be populated. An important aspect of the new maintenance model was the development of the Analytical Hierarchy Process modelling toolkit to measure the sustainability of the existing stock and prioritise maintenance work to improve this measure over time through planned maintenance. Whilst the model was based on data collected in the field, the worked example was theoretical and provides an opportunity for further work with Octavia Housing.

This thesis investigates the causes of the growth of contingent work and its implications for labour. It focuses on German core manufacturing sectors, where contingent work recently increased to a great extent and the metal union started organising agency workers and bargaining on their behalf. In contrast, existing literature expects the German core manufacturing to rely on a stable specific-skilled workforce and on labour management coalitions while contingent work affects the service periphery. The thesis contends that the literature has overestimated employers’ interests in retaining their skilled workforce as well as the stability of cross-class coalitions, which are supposed to support the equilibrium between core and peripheral labour market segments. The main argument is that labour will include contingent workers in its representation domain when employers’ segmentation strategies start developing competition between contingent and permanent workers and threatening the existence of the core workforce. Institutional change undermining labour cohesiveness and increasing employer discretion is found to trigger this process. The first paper examines how weakening negotiated and legal employment protections have affected the association between specific skills and stable employment. It finds that the whole manufacturing workforce –including specific-skilled workers- have become more likely to be on a temporary contract since the eighties, also thanks to the routine nature of work. The second paper examines how labour influenced the workplace arrangements for agency workers in four automotive plants. It finds that inclusive arrangements are the outcome of the combination of labour power –rooted in workplace industrial relations and conditions external to the plant - and labour commitment to a homogeneous workforce. The third paper explains the union campaign for agency workers started in 2007. By analysing the union’s strategies towards agency workers from the seventies until 2012, it shows that the union adopted an inclusive strategy because growing agency work threatened the collectively agreed standards for core workers.

There is a growing literature on corporate social responsibility (CSR) and gender issues, which draws upon a range of feminist theory and perspectives. However,research in this field appears to have been somewhat hampered by a lack of systematic engagement with ‘gendered organizations’ studies (GOS), and with a broad range of CSR theory, in particular that related to governance. This thesis sets out to address these gaps in the literature. It opens up new dialogue between the fields of GOS and CSR. Through a review of the GOS literature this study notes a number of organizational change strategies identified by feminist scholars. With reference to these it develops a set of research questions with which to investigate the possible contribution of CSR to organizational change with regard to gender equality. These are then employed in an exploration of CSR practice, focusing on CSR reporting and stakeholder relations. Through this analysis the thesis identifies several ways in which CSR might contribute to advancing the feminist organizational change agenda. Particular attention is paid to recent developments in political theories of CSR, which regard CSR as a governance process involving business, government and civil society. Thus, the thesis addresses organizational change and gender equality in the context of new governance, and particularly CSR, and by extending the literature both empirically and conceptually produces insights for feminist studies relating to CSR theory and practice. Noting that the private sector is playing an increasingly important role in employment, and more broadly in societal governance in many parts of the world, and the growth of CSR, research in this thesis critically engages with CSR literature and practice from a feminist perspective. The research presented assesses the importance of CSR for organizational change on gender equality through an investigation of two related questions, namely how gender equality issues are addressed within CSR practice, and how CSR might help advance organizational change on this agenda. These questions are explored through the use of nine secondary research questions in three studies involving document analysis of company reports, and semi-structured interviews with corporate managers, and with leaders of women’s NGOs. The thesis thus updates our knowledge of CSR reporting on gender equality issues, and explores the views of corporate managers about CSR and gender equality. It also investigates the views of leaders in women’s NGOs on private sector accountability for gender equality, and the field of CSR more broadly, thus engaging with a group of stakeholders not normally included in the CSR literature. The research suggests that, despite its limitations, CSR can contribute to the gender organizational change agenda in several ways, which revolve around the new governance systems which CSR presages. These include new organizational rhetoric and practices, new external drivers of change within business, and new kinds of regulation. The three studies are informed by, and contextualised with reference to the CSR literature on governance, and are ultimately brought together in a discussion of CSR as a governance process from a feminist perspective. From this vantage point the potential of CSR to facilitate organizational change suggested in this thesis appears to be underdeveloped at the present time. While recognizing many important critiques of the field, with reference to the research outcomes the thesis frames CSR as a political opportunity with regard to gender equality. The aim here is therefore to contribute not only to knowledge but also perhaps to feminist action.

Recent studies highlight the importance of improving corporate governance practices in order to reduce the impact of financial crises on the economy. However, doing so requires consideration of exactly what forms corporate governance, particularly in a national context. Such consideration necessitates some focus on institutions, an area which has been largely neglected by previous research. As such, this research primarily focuses on understanding a range of institutions in a non-Western, emerging society. Attention will be paid to the influence of such institutions on the emergence and development of corporate governance regimes from an institutional theory perspective, as perceived by significant social actors. Data were collected from semi-structured interviews with corporate governance managers in Saudi Arabia. Findings suggest that the emergence of corporate governance regimes in a non-Western, emerging society (Saudi Arabia) is influenced by family, kinship, bureaucratic state, and religion institutions. Family and kinship institutions appear to negatively impact on the emergence and development of corporate governance in this non-Western, emerging society in terms of issues surrounding control, abuse, and conflict of interest. The bureaucratic state and religion appear to positively influence the development of corporate governance in the Saudi Arabian non-Western, emerging society in terms of issues centred on implementation, compliance, and supporting roles. This research provides a new understanding of the impact of, and role played by, institutions in the formation of corporate governance in a non-Western, emerging society which is an under-researched context. Implications, such as how to reduce negative institutional impacts and take advantage of more positive ones, are discussed. Finally, suggestions for further research are offered. Such research might focus on exploring the impact of institutions from extended standpoints of institutional theory, for example institutional logics and institutional work perspectives.

By drawing on the hegemony of politics over the administration and social policy in the Kurdistan Region, researching the implementation of social security programmes is critically important for understanding the outlook of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) towards social policy. This research broadly examines policy implementation theories within the context of this politically underdeveloped region, taking into account the social security programmes of the KRG as a case study. Primary questions could be asked here, such as what are the critical factors in the implementation of social security in the KRG? Why has the KRG not adopted and implemented an effective social policy with its developmental programmes since its relative economic growth in 2001? My focused question in the current research is: why has the KRG implemented its two main social cash transfers (‘Rights and Privileges to Families of Martyrs and Genocide Survivors’ and ‘Social Safety Net’) differently? Exploring these cases would favour understanding of the extent to which the political conditions of the Kurdistan Region have influenced the implementation of social benefit schemes of the KRG. Experiencing its national struggle in the past, intra-Kurdish civil war during the 1990s and partisanship afterwards has formed the KRG. As for the theoretical framework of this research, I have used two sets of literature: policy implementation and clientelism. Having employed qualitative semi-structured interviews with forty-six individuals and six focus groups from implementers of the aforementioned programmes in the region, this research discusses the critical factors in the implementation process of social security programmes in the KRG. In contrast to almost all policy implementation theories and models, which lay emphasis on the role of top officials (top-down approach), bureaucrats and implementers (bottom-up approach), I argue that the political character of the programme and its beneficiaries is potentially a determinant actor in the policy implementation success. The KRG deals with social cash transfers in accordance with the profile and socio-political status of beneficiaries. In this regard two types of clients could be distinguished: high value clients treated within a preferred programme (RPFMGS) and low-value clients treated within a neglected programme (SSN). The profile and status of beneficiaries of social security schemes play a decisive role in the salience given to the social programme, and in the effectiveness of its implementation. Both aforementioned social security programmes are implemented at a ministerial level. However, the performance of the two programmes appears to be complicated and evidently different. The main difference between both programmes is that the first programme, RPFMGS, serves a population who are characterised as ‘political victims’, while the second programme, SPF, covers ‘socio-economic victims’. Labelling beneficiaries based on their socio-political status will primarily explain the reason why the KRG deals with each social security programme very differently. The first programme is highly prioritised politically, while the second is neglected politically.

Subsidiaries act as both creators and contributors of knowledge and innovation within the Multinational Enterprise (MNE), (Ghoshal and Bartlett, 1983; Birkinshaw, 1995, 2000; Almeida and Phene, 2004; Cantwell and Mudambi, 2005; Andersson et al., 2008; Phene and Almeida, 2008), but according to the literature, how this occurs, and how this contributes to a differentiated role for the subsidiary within the MNE, demands attention (Frost, 2001; Cantwell and Mudambi, 2005; Figueiredo, 2011). This study seeks to address this research gap. Specifically, the research examines whether, how, and under what conditions, subsidiaries develop innovative capabilities through innovations and/or initiatives, within their internal and external multinational networks, and if, and how this innovative activity can contribute to role evolution for the subsidiary within the MNE. Drawing upon the theoretical lenses of both a network and a resource-based perspective, and additionally incorporating resource dependency theory, the study contributes to an understanding of the development of capabilities within the subsidiary. Recognising the value to the wider MNE of subsidiary innovation, the study unlocks the ‘black box’ of the subsidiary’s innovation activities, by illuminating the various activities and the processes that link them (Birkinshaw et al., 1998), to establish new insights into how the internal and external networks of the subsidiary influence subsidiary innovative capability. The literature has tended to assume that subsidiaries automatically benefit from linkages in its network environment, but the role of subsidiary management initiative in the entrepreneurial tapping of new resources has not been considered sufficiently (Stahl, 2004). So, whilst the internal network, the external network (and related embeddedness and linkage factors) impact the innovative capability of the subsidiary, the headquarters, the munificence of the local environment, but also the autonomous choices of the subsidiary itself, drive innovation and capability development within the subsidiary. The study therefore examines how innovative initiative activity, alongside the network linkages of the subsidiary, and through the exercise of autonomy shapes and influences subsidiary role evolution. Ireland, as a highly developed and globalised economy, has achieved much success in attracting key MNE subsidiary players into knowledge-intensive sectors, and these subsidiaries are evolving into high value R&D units, undertaking key innovations for the entire MNE. The success story of Irelands’ FDI model makes it a particularly insightful context in which to study innovative activity in multinational subsidiaries. Five case-studies of high-technology subsidiaries which are located in close geographic proximity at the sub national level provide the empirical basis for the study’s agenda, with senior managers with key functional roles as the key respondents. The study contributes to the study of subsidiary innovation and innovative capability development in a number of ways. First, the study provides insight into how subsidiaries generate innovation through the mechanism of proactive and self-determined subsidiary initiatives. In particular, subsidiaries, through these innovations, initiate and develop meaningful linkages with key actors in the local external environment, which creates credibility and legitimacy for future initiative-taking. This suggests that a subsidiary choice perspective and initiative may be a valid perspective to adopt when considering subsidiary innovations and capability enhancement in MNEs. Subsidiaries develop few but important linkages in both their internal and external networks. To a large extent, the evolution of linkages and relationship is not automatic but the linkages are initiated and shaped by the deliberate strategies of the subsidiaries which, by corollary, means that the environment is reflected in the strategies and interests of the subsidiary. The study also sheds light on the controversies surrounding the exercise of, and role of, autonomy, and its relevance to innovative capability within the subsidiary. To note, all subsidiaries have strategically advanced roles in terms of R&D capability, and to varying degrees the subsidiaries act as pivots for R&D development within the global MNE. Whilst the autonomy of the subsidiary is both assumed and revealed in the actual initiatives pursued by the subsidiaries, interestingly, the study finds that due to increasing technological specialisation of the subsidiaries, autonomy is not something that is ‘fought for’, rather integration and contribution to the MNE is deemed valuable for future role development. As regards role change of the subsidiary within the MNE, the findings are more indeterminate. Clearly, role change may take many years to actually surface. However, it is clear that subsidiaries are becoming more specialised in their mandate focus, through purposefully outsourcing manufacturing, progressively upgrading R&D capabilities, and further strengthening collaborative linkages for technological innovation. As an ‘insider in two systems’ (Collinson and Wang, 2012), the study shows that generating innovations within subsidiaries is a path-dependent process, building on proven capabilities and the credibility of the subsidiary. Innovation capability is not only the result of the overall ‘entrepreneurial orientation’ or initiative-taking capability of the subsidiary in tight networks, but also in the ability of the subsidiaries to combine and recombine resources from its linkages in both internal and external networks for differential contribution to an ever more integrative MNE. Finally, the findings are synthesised into a new model capturing how and under what conditions innovative capabilities develop within the subsidiary, within the MNE. The study deepens and extends the analysis of the situated nature of knowledge and competence development to an understanding of the subsidiary’s own strategies in the generation of new knowledge for subsidiary-specific advantage, and illustrates some of the reasons as to why not all subsidiaries are equal.