Profile

Biography

I have been Professor of Human Resource Management at York Management School since 2005. I have been Deputy Head of School since 2007and have held academic posts in sociology of work, industrial relations, and human resource management at Bath, Bradford, Kent, and Manchester Metropolitan universities. I have held visiting appointments at Monash, Nijmegen, and Sydney Universities.

My primary research interest is in employee share ownership schemes. I was a member of the Inland Revenue Advisory Group responsible for the design of employee share ownership plan legislation in Finance Act 2000, and have been an advisor and consultant to government departments, companies, overseas organisations, and international agencies.

Departmental roles

Head of Human Resource Management Research Group, Deputy Head of The York Management School

Research

Overview

My main research interests are

Workplace financial education. I conducted a pilot study of companies with workplace financial education in conjunction with ifsProshare in 2007, and am currently developing a major survey to establish the extent and character of workplace financial education in large companies.

Employee share ownership plans. Projects have examined majority employee ownership and employee share plans in large companies. Past projects include an ESRC-funded study of UK ESOPs, a study of behaviour in stock option plans, and an examination of financial participation in Europe (funded by the European Foundation). Current projects include analysis of the relationship between share plans and various aspects of employment such as employee monitoring, training, and participation, using the Workplace Employment Relations Survey 2004. I am also investigating the factors influencing employee participation in share ownership plans. Starting in January 2009 an ESRC CASE studentship will examine employee engagement in employee-owned companies in conjunction with the Employee Ownership Association. To see evidence submitted to the Postal Services Bill Committee on employee ownership in Royal Mail privatization click here.

Finance, ownership, governance, and human resource management. This research has sought to evaluate the effect of finance, ownership, and governance on employment and human resource management. Projects have included studies funded by the Department of Trade and Industry, European Science Foundation, and the International Labour Office. Current projects include a study of the relationship between ownership and employee remuneration using WERS2004. For a recent project on The Impact of Investment Funds on Restructuring Practices and Employment Levels click here.

Impact of public ownership and privatisation on industrial relations. My PhD investigated managerial strategy and industrial relations in British Rail in the 1970s and 1980s. I subsequently studied the nature of workplace representation amongst train drivers, funded by the Nuffield Foundation. An ESRC-funded project examined the impact of privatisation on railway employment relations, and assessed whether post-privatisation managers differed from their predecessors.

Publications

Full publications list

Published

‘Finance, ownership, governance, and labour: evaluating the market model’, Asia-Pacific Journal of Human Resources, 2009, Vol 47, No. 2

‘Employee participation in employee share ownership: an evaluation of the factors associated with participation and contributions in Save As You Earn plans’, British Journal of Management, 2009.

‘The Changing Use of contingent Pay at the Modern British Workplace’ (with Alex Bryson and Keith Whitfield) in The Evolution of the Modern Workplace, edited by W.Brown, A.Bryson, J.Forth, and K.Whitfield. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009

‘Employee participation and share ownership’ (with Eric Kaarsemaker and Erik Poutsma) in the Oxford Handbook of Participation in Organisations, edited by A.Wilkinson, M.Marchington, P.Gollan, and D.Lewin. Oxford University Press, 2009

‘Employee participation and corporate governance’ (with Howard Gospel) in the Oxford Handbook of Participation in Organisations, edited by A.Wilkinson, M.Marchington, P.Gollan, and D.Lewin. Oxford University Press, 2009

‘The impact of equity markets and corporate governance on labour market flexibility’ International Journal of Human Resource Management, 2008, 19 (10): 1792-1808 (with Boyd Black and Howard Gospel).

‘Employee share ownership in Europe’ in S.Corby, S.Palmer, and E.Lindop (eds.) Rethinking Reward. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008, Ch. 12

‘Corporate governance and workplace employment relations: the potential of WERS2004’ Industrial Relations Journal, 2007, 38 (4): 338-355 (with Simon Deakin)

‘Finance, corporate governance, and the employment relationship’ Industrial Relations, 2007, 46 (3): 643-650 (with Boyd Black and Howard Gospel)
(with Boyd Black and Howard Gospel)

‘Determinants of participation in and contributions to all-employee stock plans’ Proceedings of the 59th Annual Meeting (refereed papers section). Champaign, Il: Labor and Employment Relations Association, 2007.

‘Ownership, Governance, and Employment Relationships: the contribution and potential of WERS’ in K.Whitfield and K.Huxley Innovations in the 2004 Workplace Employment Relations Survey Cardiff: Cardiff University, 2007.
(with Simon Deakin)

‘The study of employee share ownership using WERS: an evaluation and analysis of the 2004 survey’ in K.Whitfield and K.Huxley Innovations in the 2004 Workplace Employment Relations Survey Cardiff: Cardiff University, 2007.

‘Finance, corporate governance, and labour market flexibility: an international perspective’ in U.Jurgens, G.Schuppert, D.Sadowski, and M.Weiss Perspektiven der Corporate Governance, Nomos, 2007
(with Boyd Black and Howard Gospel)

‘Employee voice’ in R.Lucas, B.Lupton, and H.Mathieson Human Resource Manaement in an International Context. London: CIPD, 2007.

'The Relationship between Financial Participation and Other Forms of Employee Participation: New Survey Evidence from Europe' Economic and Industrial Democracy, 2006, 27 (4): 637-667 (with Panu Kalmi and Erik Poutsma

‘Incentives, monitoring, and employee stock ownership plans: new evidence and interpretations', Industrial Relations, 2006, 45(4): 753 - 777.

‘Sellers or Keepers? Employee Behaviour in Stock Option Plans' [pdf] Human Resource Management, 2005, 44 (3): 319-337.

''Financial participation and performance in Europe' [pdf] Human Resource Management Journal, 2005, 15 (4) 54-67 (with Panu Kalmi and Erik Poutsma).

‘Employee share ownership, governance, and industrial relations' in B.Harley, J.Hyman, and P.Thompson (eds.) Essays in Honour of Harvie Ramsay, London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005.

‘How far does the UK have a market-based system of corporate governance?' Competition and Change, 2005, 9 (1): 107-126.

Corporate Governance and Labour Management: an International Perspective (edited with H.Gospel). Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004.

‘Markets and relationships: the United Kingdom ' in H.Gospel and A.Pendleton (eds.), Corporate Governance and Labour Management. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004.

Financial Participation: The Role of Governments and Social Partners [pdf] , European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, 2004 (with E.Poutsma).

‘Corporate governance and employment: moving beyond the simple market model', Renewal 2003, 11 (4): 19-29 (with H.Gospel).

‘Finance, corporate governance, and the management of labour: a conceptual and comparative analysis' British Journal of Industrial Relations, 2003, 41 (3): 557-582 (with H.Gospel).

‘The effect of privatisation on managers: evidence from railway privatisation', Human Relations, 2003, 56 (1): 85-111.

‘The use of ownership incentives in SMEs' in O.Jones and F.Tilley (eds.) Creating and sustaining competitive advantage in SMEs , London: Wiley, 2003.

‘The development of financial participation in Europe', in T. Kato and J. Pliskin (eds.) The Determinants of the Incidence and the Effects of Participatory Organisations, Advances in the Economic Analysis of Participatory and Labor Management, Volume 7, Amsterdam: Elsevier/JAI Press, 2003 (with C.Brewster and E.Poutsma).

Theoretical Study of Stock Options in Small and Medium-sized Enterprises [pdf] , European Commission, Directorate General for Enterprise, 2002 (with E.Poutsma, J.Blasi, D.Kruse, and J.Sesil).

‘Policy and practice in European financial participation' in M.Biagi (ed.), Quality of Work and Employee Involvement in Europe, The Hague: Kluwer, 2002.

‘Employee share ownership and profit sharing in the European Union: incidence, characteristics, and representation' [pdf] Transfer, 2002, 8 (1): 47-62 (with E.Poutsma, C.Brewster and J.van Ommeren).

Employee Ownership, Participation, and Governance, London: Routledge, 2001.

Employee share ownership and profit-sharing in the European Union [pdf], European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, Dublin , 2001 (with E.Poutsma, J. van Ommeren, and C.Brewster).

‘Employee ownership in enterprises in Africa and Asia ', International Journal of Human Resource Management 2000, 11 (1): 90-111 (with M.Wright and K.Robbie).

‘Profit sharing and employee share options' in R.Thorpe and G. Homan (eds.) Strategic Reward Systems. London: Pearson Longman, 2000.

‘Bargaining systems and financial participation: a comparative analysis of Italy , the UK and the USA ', Lavoro e Relazioni Industriali, 1999, 12 (with A.del Boca and D.Kruse).

‘Ownership or competition? Evaluating the effects of privatisation on industrial relations institutions, processes and outcomes' [pdf], Public Administration, 1999, 77 (4): 769-792.

‘The perception and effects of share ownership: empirical evidence from employee buy-outs' [pdf] British Journal of Industrial Relations, 1998, 36 (1): 99-124 (with N.Wilson and M.Wright).

‘What impact has privatisation had on pay and employment: a review of the UK experience' [pdf] Relations Industrielles/Industrial Relations, 1997, 52 (3): 554-582.