Almost 250 years ago, ‘gang-masters’ – those who mediated between rural employers and roving bands of migrant workers - were vividly brought to life within the pages of Marx’s Capital. By contrast the modern-day phenomenon of how paid-for labour market intermediaries – temporary staffing agencies and their rural ‘gangmaster’ counterparts – construct transnational workforces remains remarkably undocumented, let alone theorised. Similarly, although a burgeoning literature sheds light on the increasing privatisation of international migration flows, the precise role of profit-seeking ‘recruiters’ within a broader migration industry remains underexposed. This thesis explores how - and why - agencies recruited migrant workers from his or her home countries and placed them in temporary employment in the UK. In response to the apparent growing significance of temporary staffing agencies in facilitating migration into the UK from the EU8 countries of Central and Eastern Europe, as well as from beyond the EU, the research was funded by an ESRC CASE studentship. Evidence was gathered from qualitative interviews conducted with representatives of agencies in the UK, in Poland, the Philippines, and Australia, as well as with a range of respondents from government departments, labour organisations, regulatory bodies, and journalists in all four countries. The multi-scale fieldwork sites were selected in order to offer a comparative analysis of variable institutional and regulatory settings. Within the following pages I argue that agencies in both the origin countries, as well as in the UK, made markets in the recruitment and supply of temporary migrant workers; selling migration to recruits, and migrant workers to client employers in the process. Activities of agencies were highly embedded within the precise institutional and regulatory regime that resulted from the interaction between that in place in the origin country as well as that in the UK. The thesis seeks to contribute empirically and conceptually to a growing literature which exposes the behaviour of temporary staffing agencies within national labour markets as well as the migration industry literature which looks at the behaviour of actors which transport workers between national labour markets.

Background and Problem definition: Atypical employment is something that has becomeincreasingly common in recent decades, these are defined as positions where no relationship is of thetraditional type in which the employee has a long term relationship with the employer and where hecarries out his work at the premises of the employer. These atypical employments can take variousforms, it can be fixed term contracts, project work or jobs in employment agencies and so on. Thestaffing sector in Sweden has grown rapidly since the 90s, and since international research shows thatthe three-way relationship arising from the use of staffing agencies may lead to challenges in differentparts of HRM, we have chosen to study this topic. Aim: The purpose of this paper is to describe and understand how HRM is handled in atypicalemployment relationships.Method: The epistemological starting point for this work is hermeneutics, as a result of this theresearch approach is qualitative and inspired by abduction. The authors have chosen to carry out thework as a case study of three primary cases, each one consisting of an employment agency, a clientorganization and an employee. The analysis is based on the hermeneutics principles of interpretationand concentration of meaning. Results: What emerged as central to how HRM is handled are the interdependencies that existbetween the business environment and the strategies of the firm, how they affect different parts ofHRM and how participation and liminality have an impact on the three-way relationship.Keywords: HRM, atypical employment, staffing agencies, three-way relationship and strategy. / Bakgrund och Problematisering: Atypiska anställningsförhållanden är något som har blivit meroch mer vanligt förekommande de senaste decennierna, dessa definieras som anställningar där interelationen är av den traditionella typen där den anställde har en långsiktig relation med arbetsgivarenoch där denne utför sitt arbete på plats hos arbetsgivaren. Dessa atypiska anställningsförhållanden kanta sig olika uttryck, det kan vara olika visstidsanställningar, arbete i projektform eller anställningar ibemanningsföretag och så vidare. Bemanningsbranschen i Sverige har vuxit i snabb takt sedan 90-talet, och då internationell forskning visar på att det trepartsförhållande som uppstår vid användandetav bemanningsföretag kan leda till utmaningar när det gäller olika delar av HRM har vi valt dettaämne att studera. Syfte: Syftet med detta arbete är att beskriva och förstå hur HRM hanteras i atypiskaanställningsförhållanden.Metod: Den epistemologiska utgångspunkten för detta arbete är hermeneutiken, som en följd avdetta är forskningsansatsen kvalitativ och inspirerad av abduktion. Författarna har valt att genomföraarbetet som en fallstudie bestående av tre primärfall som var och ett består av ett bemanningsföretag,en kundorganisation och en anställd. Analysen bygger på hermeneutikens tolkningsprinciper ochmeningskoncentrering. Resultat: Det som framkommit som centralt för hur HRM hanteras är de ömsesidigaberoendeförhållanden som föreligger mellan företagens förutsättningar och strategier, hur dessapåverkar olika delar av HRM och hur delaktighet och liminalitet har inverkan på trepartsförhållandet.Sökord: HRM, atypiska anställningsförhållanden, bemanningsföretag, trepartsförhållande och strategi.

BAKGRUND & PROBLEM De allra flesta företag i vårt land är mindre företag, hit räknas företag med mindre än 49 anställda vilket motsvarar 99 % av Sveriges företag. Detta gör att de allra flesta företag skiljer sig från de företag som ofta beskrivs i litteratur inom ekonomistyrningens område. Detta genom att stora företag är överrepresenterade i studentlitteratur, vilket är det första problemet som studien omfattar. Flera forskare anser även att det finns ett gap mellan den teori som framställs i studentlitteratur och praktiken, vilket ses som det andra problemet studien behandlar. Denna studie fokuserar på att undersöka hur mindre bemanningsföretag i Östergötland tillämpar formella styrmedel i sin ekonomistyrning. Här kan man fråga sig vilka formella styrmedel som används och varför samt vilken roll styrmedlet har? SYFTE Syftet med studien har varit att ge en fördjupad förståelse för de formella styrmedel som svenska mindre företag inom bemanningsbranschen använder sig av och dess betydelse. AVGRÄNSNING Studien omfattar endast formella styrmedel i mindre företag i Sverige inom bemanningsbranschen. Datainsamlingen begränsas till ett urval. METOD Datainsamlingen genomfördes med hjälp av besöksintervjuer hos fyra fallföretag. Urvalsprocessen genomfördes med hjälp av urvalskriterier och ett företagsregister vilket resulterade i en population av 8 företag inom bemanningsbranschen med 4-49 anställda och med representation i Linköping. Av dessa åtta företag, valdes av fyra fallföretag att ingå i studiens urval. RESULTAT Studiens resultat visar att samtliga fallföretag använder sig av budget och kalkyler, några företag använder prognoser och även icke-finansiella nyckeltal. Ett fallföretag använder ett balanserat styrkort. Resultatet visar också hur företag väljer vilka styrmedel som ska ingå i företagets ekonomistyrning, viktiga aspekter här är behov, förutsättningar, kunskap & uppfattningar samt individuella preferenser. Vidare beskrivs den roll som det formella styrmedlet uppfyller i organisationen, vilket resultatet visar skiljer sig mellan olika styrmedel och beroende på i vilken organisation styrmedlet tillämpas. / BACKGROUND AND PROBLEM The most of the companies in Sweden are small, this group include companies with less than 49 employees and over 99 percent of the companies in Sweden belongs to this group. The fact result in that the most of the companies differ from the large enterprise often described in accessible literature for students within the economic control area. This depends on that large-scale enterprises are overrepresented in student literature, which is the first problem that the study covers. Many researchers also consider that there is a gap between the theory in student literature and practice, which is seen as the second problem that’s the study covers. The focus of this study is to examine how small staffing agencies in the region Östergötland, which include the cities Linköping and Norrköping, are using formal instruments as a part of their economic control. The question is which formal instruments are used and why, as well as what role filling the formal instrument? PURPOSE The purpose with the study is to become absorbed in how small enterprises applying economic control in their organization, what type of formal instruments they use and why. DELIMITATION The study only covers formal instruments that are used by small enterprises active in the business of staffing agencies within Sweden. The collection of empirical data is limited by one sample, the method of selection is described in the methodology section. METHOD The data collection was conducted using interviews with four companies. The selection process was carried out using the selection criteria and a business directory, resulting in a population of eight companies in the staffing industry with 4-49 employees represented in Linköping. From these eight companies, four were selected to be included in the sample of the study. RESULT The study results show that all companies use budgets and estimates, some companies use forecasts and also of non-financial indicators. One company uses a balanced scorecard. The result also shows how companies choose which economic instruments should be included in the company's economic control, key aspects here are needs, circumstances, knowledge and beliefs, as well as individual preferences. The result also describes what type of role the formal instrument should fill in the organization, which the results shows differs between different economic instruments and depending on which organization the instrument is used.

Fenomenet Artificiell intelligens (AI) är en högaktuell teknik som appliceras på flera olika områden inom samhället. Inom HR-arbetet kan rekryteringsprocessen baseras på AI-teknik och stora delar kan komma att automatiseras. Tidigare forskning har visat på att både urvalssökning och kandidatmatchning har varit användbara områden där företag kan automatisera för att tidseffektivisera. AI-teknik är ännu inte ett väletablerat fenomen på den svenska arbetsmarknaden och därför har rekryterares perception kring användandet undersökts. Syftet med studien är att öka förståelse om användning av AI-teknik i rekryteringsprocessen hos bemanningsföretag då det är stora volymer av arbetssökande inom bemanningsbranschen och deras huvudsysslor är att arbeta med bemanning och rekrytering. Den teoretiska referensramen baseras på två olika ansatser till rekrytering. De utgörs av den psykometriska ansatsen, som är en objektiv ansats, och den sociala ansatsen, som är en subjektiv ansats, för rekryteringsprocessens utformning. Den teoretiska referensramen baseras även på en forskningssammanställning om AI-teknik för att i analysen kunna göra en jämförelse mellan tidigare forskning och rekryterares insikter. Författarna har tagit fram en egen analysmodell för att använda den teoretiska referensramen till att analysera det empiriska materialet. För att skapa en djupare förståelse för rekryterares perception av användandet av AI i rekryteringsprocessen baseras studien på kvalitativa intervjuer med rekryterare på bemanningsföretag. För att skapa en variation bland respondenterna har studiens författare utfört intervjuer med nio olika respondenter på sju olika bemanningsföretag. Den insamlande empirin har analyserats genom författarnas analysmodell. Resultatet tyder på att rekryteringsprocessen idag inte är anpassad för att använda AI och framförallt arbetet med kravprofilen behöver utvecklas för att AI ska nå maximal utdelning. Studiens slutsats är att det kommer krävas en utveckling av de två tidigare presenterade ansatserna till rekryteringsprocessen. Författarna föreslår den automatiserade ansatsen till rekrytering som en tredje ansats, där den inledande processen objektiviseras och anpassas för AI och de mänskliga faktorerna bibehålls i subjektiva intervjuprocesser och mänskliga beslut. / The phenomenon of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a trending technology that is applied in several different areas of society. In HR work, the recruitment process can be based on AI technology and large parts can be automated. Previous research has shown that both selection and matching of candidates have been useful areas where companies can automate in order to make more efficient use of their time. AI technology is not yet a well-established phenomenon in Swedish companies and therefore, the recruiters' perception of use has been studied. The purpose of the study is to increase understanding of the use of AI technology in the recruitment process of staffing agencies, as there are large volumes of job seekers in the staffing industry and their main job is to work with staffing and recruitment. The theoretical frame is based on two different approaches to recruitment. They consist of the psychometric approach, which is an objective approach, and the social approach, which is a subjective approach to the recruitment process. The theoretical framework is also based on a research summary on AI technology in order to make a comparison between previous research and the recruiters' insights in the analysis. The authors have developed their own analysis model to use the theoretical frame to analyze the empirical material. To create a deeper understanding of recruiters perception of the use of AI in the recruitment process, the study is based on qualitative interviews with recruiters at staffing companies. In order to create a variation among the respondents, the authors the study have conducted interviews with nine different respondents at seven different staffing companies. The empirical data has been analyzed by the authors' analysis model. The result suggests that the recruitment process today is not adapted to use AI and, above all, the work with the requirement profile needs to be developed in order for AI to reach the maximum usage. The conclusion of the study is that a development of the two previously presented approaches to the recruitment process will be required. The authors propose the automated approach to recruitment as a third approach, where the initial process is objectified and adapted for AI but the human factors are maintained in subjective interview processes with human decisions.

In recent years, the labor market has become increasingly flexible, and companies need to relate to an increasingly globalized market to survive and thrive. To meet the needs of this new environment, more and more companies are relying on temporary workers, mainly with the help of staffing agencies. Consequently, they can handle work stoppages as well as secure the employment of permanent staff when the workload decreases. When temporary staff arrive at a workplace, two different groups meet, the temporary worker and the permanent staff. There are some differences between the two groups mainly that the permanent workers have easier access to resources, higher level of job security as well as more opportunities for further training. The meeting between these two groups give rise to a range of different reactions, both at the individual and group level. The purpose of the current study is to investigate how permanent staff is affected by working together with temporary workers. The study is conducted using semi-structured interviews. In order to analyze the material, the following theoretical frameworks have been used: To illustrate how the individual is affected, Nilsson's (2009) theories about social identity, and the individual and the group are used. This is supplemented by Kazemi et al. (2009) theory of group and change. By using Lindqvist et al. (2014) theory of organizational culture and change, it is also possible to scrutinize what is happening at the organizational level and how it affects the individual and the group. The results of the current study show that the staff is indeed affected by working together with temporary workers.The biggest effect is in the field of employee turnover. The turnover is often a result of the organization attempting to meet the needs of the flexible market, which creates periods with more workload due to higher demand. The employee turnover have an effect on the wellbeing of the permanent staff.