Management Revue

Editorial: Varieties of Employment

The Right to Part-Time: Practical Implications From the Managerial Point of View**

In 2001 the employee's right to reduce working-time according to their own preferences was implemented in Germany. This legal title hardly effects the slowly but steadily growing number of part-time jobs. Nevertheless, data from the socioeconomic panel suggest that about 25% of employees wish to reduce their working-time even if this is associated with a loss of income. The HR-manager is seen as a mediator and is expected to play a major role moderating the effect of the legislative implement...

The Psychological Relationship Between Companies and Freelancers: An Empirical Study of the Commitment and the Work-Related Expectations of Freelancers**

For some years now a tendency towards a more flexible shaping of employment has been observable. Little research, however, has been dedicated to the question of how relevant this is for the commitment of freelance employees. Therefore the present paper first reverts to the question as to whether - and if so, under what preconditions - freelancers are likely to feel commitment towards the company that employs them. Second, the paper identifies clusters of freelancers following their work-relat...

The Role of Dismissal Protection in Personnel Management. From the Point of View of Personnel Managers**

This article concerns itself with the effects of dismissal protection on personnel management behavior within companies. The basis of the empirical analysis is 41 expert interviews conducted in 2006 as well as information available from a standardized survey of 750 personnel managers which was carried out in 2007. As a whole the effects of dismissal protection on personnel management are perceived by personnel managers to be insignificant. The judgments of those responsible for personnel are ...

Outsourcing Hr Functions. Development of an Explanatory Approach to Firms' (Non-Existent) Demand for Personnel Services**

This paper develops a comprehensive explanatory approach to the outsourcing of Human Resource (HR) functions and the resulting demand or non-demand for personnel services by companies (e.g., interim management, outplacement services, consulting in the field of HR management). Starting from the deficits of approaches that currently dominate the outsourcing debate (cost accounting approach, transaction cost approach, resource-based view of the firm), a modified and expanded framework to explain...

The Assessment of the Employment Relationship by Civil Servants. Theoretical and Empirical Insights From a Study in District Courts in Lower Saxony**

Civil servants in Germany are commonly considered to have special privileges particularly with regard to their employment conditions. This belief is based on the fact that German civil servants ("Beamte") cannot be discharged, which is an aspect of their employment relationship that attracts attention especially in times when the state of the economy is weak. But does security of employment actually play such an important role in the consciousness of employees? Is security of employment reall...