Skip to content Skip to navigation
University of Warwick
  • Study
  • |
  • Research
  • |
  • Business
  • |
  • Alumni
  • |
  • News
  • |
  • About

University of Warwick
Publications service & WRAP

Highlight your research

  • WRAP
    • Home
    • Search WRAP
    • Browse by Warwick Author
    • Browse WRAP by Year
    • Browse WRAP by Subject
    • Browse WRAP by Department
    • Browse WRAP by Funder
    • Browse Theses by Department
  • Publications Service
    • Home
    • Search Publications Service
    • Browse by Warwick Author
    • Browse Publications service by Year
    • Browse Publications service by Subject
    • Browse Publications service by Department
    • Browse Publications service by Funder
  • Help & Advice
University of Warwick

The Library

  • Login
  • Admin

Capital, labour and economic performance in the engineering construction industry: 1960-1990

Tools
- Tools
+ Tools

Korczynski, Marek (1993) Capital, labour and economic performance in the engineering construction industry: 1960-1990. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

[img] PDF
WRAP_THESIS_Korczynski_1993.pdf - Requires a PDF viewer.

Download (26Mb)
Official URL: http://webcat.warwick.ac.uk/record=b1416175~S9

Request Changes to record.

Abstract

This study engages with the debates on industrial relations and economic performance at the micro-level. Primarily; this issue has been addressed through the production function approach which seeks to correlate a variable for unionisation with an economic performance measure. Criticisms are put forward which stress the technical limitations of existing studies, the limitations of
statistical studies in examining social processes, and
theoretical problems with the production function approach. The literature recognises the need for a detailed, processual case study. The thesis is such a case study, examining the Engineering Construction Industry, i. e. the building of large power stations and process plants, from 1960 to 1990. The principal research methods were archive work and interviewing.
The industry was chosen because it constituted a 'crucial' case for the argument that labour militancy underlay the UK's poor economic performance in the 1960s and 1970s. The industry was characterised by widespread militancy and large project overruns, the assumption (tested within the thesis) being that the former caused the latter.
The key finding is that the chronic project delays were at root due to the opportunistic practices of contractors who
deliberately and covertly delayed construction in order to force the client into offering extra payments. A key profit focus of contractors lay in exploiting opportunities to generate additional payments. The widespread militancy of the 1960s and 1970s exacerbated overruns, but the key significance of militancy was that it was used as a tool by contractors in reproducing beneficial commercial relations with clients. The improvement in performance in the 1980s was at root due to the rise of managing contractors who curbed opportunism. Unconstrained by high levels of labour militancy, managing contractors adopted a low trust route to improve project performance, implying that the basis for longer term development has not been laid.
A 'crucial' case study of the British worker argument has
rejected the thesis that militancy underlay poor performance. The relationship between opportunism, militancy and poor performance uncovered within the study potentially has relevance for other important sectors of the UK economy.

Item Type: Thesis or Dissertation (PhD)
Subjects: H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): Construction industry -- Research, Industrial relations, Labor unions -- Political activity, Economic development -- Social aspects, Electric power-plants -- Design and construction, Great Britain -- Economic conditions -- 20th century
Official Date: May 1993
Dates:
DateEvent
May 1993Submitted
Institution: University of Warwick
Theses Department: Warwick Business School
Thesis Type: PhD
Publication Status: Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor: Edwards, P. K. (Paul K.) ; Marginson, Paul ; Nolan, Peter, 1949-
Sponsors: Economic and Social Research Council (Great Britain) (ESRC) ; University of Warwick (UoW) ; University of Wisconsin--Madison (UoW-M)
Format of File: pdf
Extent: 476 leaves : charts
Language: eng

Request changes or add full text files to a record

Repository staff actions (login required)

View Item View Item

Downloads

Downloads per month over past year

View more statistics

twitter

Email us: wrap@warwick.ac.uk
Contact Details
About Us