Skip to main content

Employment Relations in Small Italian Firms: An Overview

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Regulating Work in Small Firms

Abstract

This chapter provides an overall overview of the ways in which work is regulated in small firms in Italy, drawing on a survey on a representative sample of over 2300 enterprises in the private sector of the economy, located in different regions according to the country’s territorial diversity. After brief presentation of the general socio-economic and normative framework, the analysis reveals the composite nature of the reality of small firms and the somewhat unexpected variety of approaches adopted by owner-managements in the organisation and regulation of work, beneath the pervasive preference for the logics of informality. In addition to the influence of structural factors, variations appear to be explained especially by the firms’ level of dynamism and the managements’ ability to take advantage of internal and external resources.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Bacon, Nicolas, and Kim Hoque. 2005. “HRM in the SME Sector: Valuable Employees and Coercive Networks.” International Journal of Human Resource Management 16 (11): 1976–1999.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bagnasco, Arnaldo. 1977. Tre Italie. La problematica territoriale dello sviluppo italiano. Bologna: Il Mulino.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blyton, Paul, and Jonathan Morris. 1991. “A Flexible Future: Aspects of the Flexibility Debates and Some Unresolved Issues.” In A Flexible Future? Prospects for Employment and Organisation, edited by Paul Blyton and Jonathan Morris, 1–21. Berlin and New York: de Gruyter.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burroni, Luigi, and Ida Regalia, eds. Forthcoming. Regioni e relazioni industriali in Italia. Bologna: Il Mulino.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carroll, M., M. Marchington, J. Earnshaw, and S. Taylor. 1999. “Recruitment in Small Firms: Processes, Methods and Problems.” Employee Relations 21: 236–250.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cella, Giamprimo. 1989. “Criteria of Regulation in Italian Industrial Relations: A Case of Weak Institutions.” In State, Market and Social Regulation: New Perspectives on Italy, edited by Peter Lange and Marino Regini, 167–186. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Colombo, Sabrina, and Ida Regalia. 2016. “Changing Joint Regulation and Labour Market Policy in Italy During the Crisis: On the Edge of a Paradigm Shift?” European Journal of Industrial Relations 22 (3): 295–309.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Colombo, Sabrina, and Marino Regini. 2016. “Territorial Differences in the Italian ‘Social Model’.” Regional Studies 50 (1): 20–34.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cotton, John L. 1993. Employee Involvement: Methods for Improving Performance and Work Attitudes. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crouch, Colin, and Carlo Trigilia. 2001. “Conclusions: Still Local Economies in Global Capitalism?” In Local Production Systems in Europe: Rise or Demise? edited by Colin Crouch, Patrick Le Galés, Carlo Trigilia, and Hermann Voelzkow. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ebbinghaus, Bernhard. 2003. “Ever Larger Unions: Organisational Restructuring and Its Impact on Union Confederations.” Industrial Relations Journal 34 (5): 446–460.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Edwards, Paul, and Monder Ram. 2006. Employment Relations in SMEs. http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/eiro/2006/02/study/tn0602101s.htm.

  • Edwards, Paul, Monder Ram, and John Black. (2004). “Why Does Employment Legislation Not Damage Small Firms?” Journal of Law and Society 31 (2): 245–265.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Edwards, Paul, Sukanya Sengupta, and Chin-Ju Tsai. 2009. “Managing Low-Skill Workers: A Study of Small UK Food Manufacturing Firms.” Human Resource Management Journal 19 (1): 40–58.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eurostat. 2018. Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises: An Overview. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/cache/digpub/keyfigures/vis/DIR_KF2_24_1/index.html?country=EU28.

  • Forth, John, Helen Bewley, and Alice Bryson. 2006. Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises: Findings from the 2004 Workplace Employment Relations Survey. London: Department of Trade and Industry.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goss, David. 1988. “Social Harmony and the Small Firm: A Reappraisal.” The Sociological Review 36 (1): 114–132.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goss, David. 1991. Small Business and Society. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hall, Peter, and David Soskice, eds. 2001. Varieties of Capitalism: The Institutional Foundations of Comparative Advantage. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hancké, Bob, Martin Rhodes, and Mark Thatcher, eds. 2007. Beyond Varieties of Capitalism: Conflict, Contradictions and Complementarities in the European Economy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • ISTAT. 2009. Labour Force Survey 2009. dati.istat.it.

  • ISTAT. 2014a. Labour Force Survey 2014. dati.istat.it.

  • ISTAT. 2014b. Annual Regional Account. dati.istat.it.

  • ISTAT. 2014c. Migration and Calculation of Foreign Resident Population and Structure by Citizenship. dati.istat.it.

  • ISTAT. 2015. Rapporto annuale 2015. La situazione del Paese. Rome: Istituto Nazionale di Statistica.

    Google Scholar 

  • ISTAT. 2016. Annuario statistico italiano 2016. Rome: Istituto Nazionale di Statistica.

    Google Scholar 

  • Istituto Tagliacarne. 2012. Atlante della competitività delle province e delle regioni. Rome: Ist. Guglielmo Tagliacarne.

    Google Scholar 

  • Matlay, Harry. 2002. “Industrial Relations in the SME Sector of the British Economy: An Empirical Perspective.” Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development 9 (3): 307–318.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Molina, Oscar, and Martin Rhodes. 2007. “Industrial Relations and Welfare State in Italy: Assessing the Potential for Negotiated Change.” West European Politics 30 (4): 803–829.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moule, Chris. 1998. “Regulation of Work in Small Firms: A View from the Inside.” Work, Employment and Society 12 (4): 635–653.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rainnie, Alistair. 1989. Industrial Relations in Small Firms. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ram, Monder. 1994. Managing to Survive: Working Lives in Small Firms. Oxford: Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ram, Monder. 2001. “Family Dynamics in a Small Consultancy Firm: A Case Study.” Human Relations 54 (4): 395–418.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ram, Monder, and Paul Edwards. 2010. “Industrial Relations in Small Firms.” In Industrial Relations: Theory and Practice. 3rd ed., edited by Trevor Colling and Michael Terry, 231–252. Chichester: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Regalia, Ida. 2017. “Beyond Workplaces and Industries: Possibilities for Organized Action at the Territorial Level.” Comparative Labor Law & Policy Journal 38 (2, Winter): 233.

    Google Scholar 

  • Regalia, Ida, and Marino Regini. 1998. “Italy: The Dual Character of Industrial Relations.” In Changing Industrial Relations in Europe, edited by Anthony Ferner and Richard Hyman, 459–503. Malden, MA: Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Regalia, Ida, and Marino Regini. 2018. “Trade Unions and Employment Relations in Italy During the Economic Crisis.” South European Society and Politics 23 (1): 63–79.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Regini, Marino. 2014. “Models of Capitalism and the Crisis.” Stato e mercato 1: 22–44.

    Google Scholar 

  • Regini, Marino. 2015. “La crisi e il capitalismo mediterraneo: temi e problemi.” Introduzione alla Tavola rotonda, Southern Europe: The Social Regulation of the Economy in the Mediterranean Capitalism, Convegno nazionale AIS-ELO, Cagliari, ottobre 5–7.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rhodes, Martin, and Bastiaan van Apeldoorn. 1997. “Capitalism Versus Capitalism in Western Europe.” In Developments in Western European Politics, edited by Martin Rhodes, Paul M. Heywood, and Vincent Wright, 171–189. London: Macmillan.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Trigilia, Carlo, and Luigi Burroni. 2009. “Italy: Rise, Decline and Restructuring of a Regionalized Capitalism.” Economy and Society 38 (4): 630–653.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ida Regalia .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Anzivino, M., Regalia, I. (2020). Employment Relations in Small Italian Firms: An Overview. In: Regalia, I. (eds) Regulating Work in Small Firms. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-21820-1_2

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics