The purpose of the research was to discover if the dismantling of apartheid had ameliorated the poor pay and conditions of domestic servants in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. I situated these workers in the wider societal context in order to examine their 'quality of life' in addition to their 'quality of work'. Universal features of domestic service have been the depersonalising of the worker and the denial of their adulthood to that of a child. Enriching the data with consideration of some of the life details of the domestic servants interviewed challenges these lingering social practices. I favoured an interpretive methodology in order to give my interviewees the opportunity to 'speak for themselves' and facilitate the exploration of the hidden meanings within the domestic service relationship. Having argued through the thesis that domestic servants are often social constructed, caricatured and 'trapped' into being the 'other', their words are a reaffirmation of their adult status. Hegel's Lordship/bondage paradigm was the starting point of the theoretical analysis, from which I developed my own 'chains of otherness' conception. I sacrificed representativeness in my sample in order to focus on contextualising my theoretical arguments in nine diverse case studies. The outcome was that my research question narrowed to considering improvements in the lives of my nine domestic workers interviewed. However, I have also incorporated quantitative data within the thesis to add depth to my investigation. Grahamstown was the deliberate choice for the research site, as this was also the site of Cock's (1989/79) much-cited Maids and Madams. To return to an original area of investigation was imperative, as within the remit of the research question being asked was a comparison of domestic service during and after apartheid. The distortions of regionalism were minimalised and validated my use of Cock's results as a starting point for my own findings. Mandela's book title Long Walk to Freedom is an apt description of what I discovered. Improvements are beginning to be made but there is still much more to be achieved. Domestic service's inclusion in the ambit of labour legislation and improved conditions of work are positive shifts, but wages are still extremely low and social practices still have racial orientations. In addition to the application of my theoretical arguments, I moved beyond answering the original research question to consider the effects of poverty in the lives of domestic workers and formulated strategies of empowerment. As the thesis has favoured a qualitative approach I not only considered the material factors that are necessary to empower, but also the interrelations between one another that can recognise and promote human dignity.

Performing has been a formally unsegregated occupation for almost 350 years and the achievement of status by its women workers is accepted and expected. However, existing quantitative data indicate that systemic gendered disparities exist in relation to access to work, pay and career longevity. As this is an under-researched occupation the aims of the thesis are first, to map central aspects of the working realities of women performers working in subsidised theatre and terrestrial television in the UK and second, to explore perceptions of women performers’ gendered disadvantage in relation to these aspects. These aims are pursued principally through analysis of semi-structured interview data. As part of the primary aims, the purchase of strategies of legal, social and individual regulation is examined in relation to gendered disadvantage. Consideration of data is structured by work on ideas of gender and the labour process; this work is itself addressed through examination of the woman performer’s working experiences and the ways in which these are perceived by the main participants in these experiences. The study finds effective gender segregation, even more finely segregated by overt classifications of age, appearance, race/ethnicity and status. These classifications, allocated by individual perception, are found to frame the working realities of women performers and result in both systemic advantage and, more commonly, disadvantage. The effects of these perceptions are enhanced by the distinctive characteristics of this occupational sector, its labour markets and labour processes. Analysis of these issues leads to discussion of two key suppositions: that women performers inevitably collude in the perpetuation of their own constraints and that the central work experiences of women performers are manifestations of their position as formal and informal proxies for women’s experiences in wider society.

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.