There are common calls for economies to 'upgrade' and 'upskill' and move up the value chain. On this basis, the research here highlights the importance of integration and the inter-locking nature of business systems. It then examines the 'varieties of capitalism' (VOC) in respect of its wider applicability, particularly to Asia, using Thailand as an example. Finally, the influence of national cultural values is highlighted, as they prove a crucial element in any VOC analysis.

Managers play a significant role in the adoption, modification, and even discontinuation of pay for performance. However, there has been no existing literature on the contributions of line managers to pay for performance practices in the Chinese context. This paper explores line managers' perception of pay for performance and the key supports and barriers to their involvement in pay for performance design and implementation. A multi-case study approach was conducted in 12 non-public sector knowledge intensive firms, aligned with semi-structured interviews with HR and line managers. The findings show that project intensification could be an important factor that impacted on line managers' understanding and responsibility in pay for performance.

What are the similarities between a defined benefit pension plan and a football team? On the face of it there may not seem to be many. After all, the football world is populated by overpaid, badly behaved, play acting prima donnas. A far cry from the sober and serious world of defined benefit pensions, where trustees devote huge amounts of their time in the interests of others, for little of no financial reward. However, Professor Andrew Clare draws some interesting analogies between the two.

The impact of trade unions on discrimination and labour market inequality has been a matter of public concern for many years. Recently, however, observers have suggested that unions have increasingly sought to prioritise equality matters. There is a growing expectation, for example, that they will actively bargain over equality and encourage employers to adopt equality practices in order to protect workers from discrimination. Hence, unions may now have a central role to play in advancing the equality agenda and ultimately helping promote a more inclusive society. This article provides an empirical assessment of the relationship between unionisation and the adoption of equal opportunities policies and practices in British workplaces, using data from the 2004 Workplace Employment Relations Survey.