ABSTRACT

This article explores empirically the choice rationales for voluntary adoption of the Living Wage (LW) by managers of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the UK. Framed analytically by related concerns within the fields of employment relations/HRM in SMEs, business ethics and signalling, interviews with owners/directors from 23 SMEs identified a four-fold typology of choice rationales for the LW as: an expression of care for employees, the basis for a high quality service business model, a marker of corporate social responsibility, and a signal to challenge the practice of other economic actors. Opportunities and barriers for voluntary adoption of the LW in SMEs are considered, in addition to their economic effects. The practical implications for LW movements and SME managers are drawn out, and avenues for further research identified.

摘要

本文从经验上探讨了英国中小企业 (SME) 经理自愿采用最低生活工资 (LW) 的选择理由。通过对中小企业雇佣关系/人力资源管理、商业道德和信号传递领域内的相关问题进行分析，对来自 23 家中小企业的所有者/董事的访谈确定了 LW 的四种选择理由类型：对员工的关心，高质量服务商业模式的基础，企业社会责任的标志，以及挑战其他经济行为者实践的信号。除了经济影响外，还考虑了中小企业自愿采用 LW 的机会和障碍。对 LW 运动和 SME 管理者的实际影响进行了阐述，并确定了进一步研究的途径。