journal article
LitStream Collection
Customer‐supplier relations and the diffusion of employee relations changes
P.B. Beaumont; L.C. Hunter; D. Sinclair
1996 Employee Relations: An International Journal
doi: 10.1108/01425459610110209
Describes the utility of supply chain partnerships as a mechanism for the diffusion of change in employee relations. Uses case study and survey evidence to explain the means by which this can be achieved. Examines data relating to both customer and supplier organizations in the manufacturing sector. Concludes that the customer‐supplier relationship can act as an agent of change in human resource management, particularly as they do not need to be artificially created, and can reach “peripheral” as well as “core” firms. Suggests that the local economic development agencies may be able to encourage the formation of networks of organizations in a particular industry and promote the spread of innovations in employee relations in this way.