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2016 | Buch

Temporary Work Agencies in Italy

Evolution and Impact on the Labour Market

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Über dieses Buch

The book analyzes the rise and evolution of the Temporary Work Agencies' (TWAs) field in Italy. Using an in-depth longitudinal analysis from 1986 to 2015, the authors study the evolution of the Italian labor market, analyzing the interaction between players in the TWA sector and the influence of the regulatory framework on the actors' behavior. In addition the work delivers a precise description of the strategies and structures in Italian TWAs and contributes to increasing the understanding of the use of contingent work in this sector. The book provides a unique description of the Italian TWA sector giving not only the complete history from the early beginning to nowadays, but also key performance and structural data.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Frontmatter
Chapter 1. Introduction
Abstract
Currently the Italian labor market has undergone a restructuring process due to the relatively recent arrival of new forms of employment contract (compared to the rest of Europe), to the end to the public monopoly in employment policies and to the far-reaching changes in labor law. These are some of the factors that are changing the “rules of the game” in company-employee relations and have had a significant effect on the dynamics of the Italian temporary work agency (TWA) sector. In particular, two events had a crucial effect on ending the state’s monopoly over the labor market: Decree no. 276 of 2003, at least in terms of the regulations. This study is designed to aid understanding of the developmental dynamics of the sector and assess the role played in the labor market in Italy. The analysis helps to understand the dynamics and behavior of organizations viewed as well-established players conditioned by a legal, social and cultural context which, in its turn, is the result of the interaction between the actions implemented by individual players. The longitudinal research carried out in the sector of Italian TWAs is the result of six field studies undertaken over a fifteen years (2000; 2005; 2007; 2009; 2012, 2015/2016). The analyses from research in the field have enabled a processual reconstruction of phenomena and events that have taken place over a 30-year period (1986–2016), which corresponds to the process of preparation, creation and development of temporary work agencies.
Stefano Consiglio, Luigi Moschera
Chapter 2. Employment Agency and Temporary Work Agency
Abstract
The following chapter aims to introduce the analysis of the research that has been carried out on temporary employment, agency work and the role of employment agencies in Italy and in the world. It should be emphasized that the scientific community is displaying increasing interest in the issue. From this perspective, the studies we present represent tangible evidence of the increasing role of this industry within the Italian and the international economic system. Firstly, the chapter provides an exhaustive definition of employment agencies, secondly it aims to present an overview of the main researches and studies carried out. These aim at analyzing causes and motives of the growth of the sector in the world and we divide them into those following a mainstream approach and those that criticize this dominant approach.
Stefano Consiglio, Luigi Moschera
Chapter 3. Temporary Work Agencies in Italy
Abstract
This chapter describes the different phases that characterize the evolution of temporary work agency (TWA) industry in Italy. We identify four phases. The first one, the incubation phase began in the eighties when a period of intense lobbying and negotiation led to the introduction of agency work within the Italian legal system and therefore to the emergence of the sector in 1997. Then, the chapter describes and analyses the events involved in the phases of development of the sector during the period 2003/2015, including the recent crisis which affected the entire global economy. The regulatory framework of the sector will be presented with an analysis of the impact on the behavior of the key actors involved. In conclusion, temporary agency work will be compared with other forms of contingent work, according to different organizational dimensions.
Stefano Consiglio, Luigi Moschera
Chapter 4. The Actors in the Italian Temporary Work Agencies’ Field
Abstract
In this chapter we identify the numerous actors who operate in the field, employing different strategies, objectives and behavior. The research focuses on the dynamics of the sector and the strategic and organizational behavior of Italian TWAs. Moreover, this chapter seeks to provide a brief overview of the main features of the following players involved in the field: users (public and private firms); agency workers; trade unions; work agency trade associations; the State; bilateral organizations; competitors of TWAs. In particular we analyze the strategic and organizational reasons and workers motivations in the use of agency works and therefore to seek help from TWAs. The examination of this framework allow us to focus in the next chapter on the analysis of the private employment agencies (TWAs) operating in Italy, in terms of organizational forms, strategies, behavior and trends of development.
Stefano Consiglio, Luigi Moschera
Chapter 5. The Structure and Performance of Temporary Work Agencies
Abstract
This chapter describes the evolution of the industry, examining the dynamics and the performances of the temporary work agency field in Italy. It describes, the structural features and in particular turnover, employees and branch offices organization and structure of Italian TWAs, and moreover the levels of concentration in the sector. The chapter ends by illustrating several structural indicators of Italian TWAs and the collective performances of the industry. The analysis is based mainly on information and statistics taken from questionnaires filled in by representatives of Italian TWAs and from balance sheets of the last years. Additional information was taken from websites of the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy and the agencies themselves. The section related to the collective performances of the industry is based on statistics gathered by professional associations.
Stefano Consiglio, Luigi Moschera
Chapter 6. The Economic and Financial Performance of the Sector
Abstract
The following chapter analyzes the economic and financial dynamics of the industry through an analysis of the balance sheets. In particular, the chapter presents the methodology we follow to analyze the balance sheets, consisting in financial ratio analysis to assess the performances and our universe of study. Moreover we present the economic and financial analysis of the Italian TWAs from 2001 to 2014, examining the capital structure and the income statement structure, their productivity and financial stability and the agency work margin from 2011 to 2014.
Stefano Consiglio, Luigi Moschera
Chapter 7. The New Institutional Approach to Analyze the Italian Temporary Work Agencies’ Field
Abstract
This article analyses the process of evolution of an “organizational field”: from its emergence to nowadays. By an in-depth longitudinal analysis from 1986 to 2011 we study the emergence and evolution of the Italian Temporary Work Agencies field (TWA), analyzing the interaction between players in the field and the influence of the regulatory framework on the actors’ behavior. In particular, the article analyses the role of actors within the field and the institutional logics that characterize it. Our study contributes to the institutional logic perspective fitting into the discussion on the coexistence of competing logics in an organizational field. The peculiar aspect is that the regulatory frame strongly influences the strategic and organizational behavior of the actors within the Italian TWA’s field. Therefore, the actors face an institutional complexity to which they try to answer with a series of individual and collective actions aimed at influencing the same logics through a mutual conditioning that may be more or less direct.
Stefano Consiglio, Luigi Moschera
Metadaten
Titel
Temporary Work Agencies in Italy
verfasst von
Stefano Consiglio
Luigi Moschera
Copyright-Jahr
2016
Electronic ISBN
978-3-319-44541-0
Print ISBN
978-3-319-44539-7
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-44541-0