Cox, Annette

Innovations in work organisation have the potential to optimise production processes in companies and improve employees’ overall experience of work. This report explores the links between innovations in work organisation – under the broader label of high performance work practices (HPWPs) – and the potential benefits for both employees and organisations.

Innovations in work organisation have the potential to optimise production processes in companies and improve employees’ overall experience of work. This report explores the links between innovations in work organisation – under the broader label of high performance work practices (HPWPs) – and the potential benefits for both employees and organisations. It draws on empirical evidence from case studies carried out in 13 Member States (Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, UK) of the European Union where workplace innovations have resulted in positive outcomes.

The Productive Ward (PW) programme was designed by the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement, in partnership with nurse leaders and industry partners, in 2005. The programme was intended to increase the efficiency of NHS working practices, therefore creating more time for staff to devote to patient care. In more recent years, however, it has also been designated an important tool in helping the NHS confront ‘the biggest challenge of its history’ as recent cuts to public spending mean it must make GBP15–20 billion worth of efficiency savings by 2014.

The Italian company Elica has manufactured cooker hoods since the 1970s. Elica has instigated many work organisation innovations over the past five years. The Harvard Business Review collectively labels Elica’s developments as ‘proposition innovation’. The innovation is a series of processes which generate suggestions for innovations from employees. Management develops a process for bottom-up ‘propositions’ which form the basis of change at the organisation. This case study presents four company-wide innovations. These are: Elica Life, World Class Manufacturing, Supplementary Agreement, and Matrix Structure. These innovations demonstrate the organisational processes that have been developed to incorporate participation.

There is consistent evidence across all the results that use of High Performance Work Practices (HPWPs) are associated with improved performance outcomes for both employees and the workplace. This report is based on secondary data analysis of Eurofound’s recent European Company Survey (ECS) 2009. It explores the links between a broad range of workplace practices and sustainable organisational performance, building on the survey report.

During recent decades, various new forms of interfirm relationships have been emerging across national contexts. This study seeks to fill a gap in the research carried out to date on the impact of these relationships on working conditions and employment practices, including human resources management policies. This report draws on 20 case studies and a review of literature to investigate the varied effects of five types of interfirm relationships on employment. These are joint ventures, clusters, public-private partnerships, strategic alliances/networks and virtual company networks. In the current economic climate, developing interfirm relationships is linked with company survival and competitiveness.

This literature review aims both to provide an up-to-date synthesis of, and contribute to, the relevant debates by analysing the varied effects of five types of interfirm relationships: public-private partnerships (PPPs), joint ventures, strategic alliances, clusters and virtual company networks (VCNs). The review uses existing literature to illustrate likely effects of each type of relationship on employment practices and working conditions.