Trust of second-generation immigrants: Intergenerational transmission or cultural assimilation?

TitleTrust of second-generation immigrants: Intergenerational transmission or cultural assimilation?
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2014
AuthorsMoschion, J, Tabasso, D
JournalIZA Journal of Migration
Volume3
Number10
Pagination1-30
Date Published05/2014
Keywordsculture, migration, trust
Abstract

This paper studies the respective influences of intergenerational transmission and the environment in shaping individual trust. Focusing on second generation immigrants in Australia and the United States, we exploit the variation in the home country and in the host country to separate the effect of cultural transmission from that of the social and economic conditions on individual trust. Our results indicate that trust in the home country contributes to the trust of second generation immigrants in both of the host countries, and marginally more in the United States. Social and economic conditions in the host country also affect individual trust.

URLhttp://www.izajom.com/content/3/1/10
DOI10.1186/2193-9039-3-10
Refereed DesignationRefereed

Women’s friendships and gender transformation

TitleWomen’s friendships and gender transformation
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2014
AuthorsBachmann, L
JournalEuropean Journal of Women's Studies
Volume21
Number2
Pagination165-179
Date Published05/2014
Place PublishedLondon
Keywordsdispositional approach, feminism, friendship, gender transformation, women
Abstract

This article explores the ways in which friendships between women may promote gender transformation. I based my study on 25 in-depth interviews with young women in Geneva disposed to gender transformation but not necessarily considering themselves to be “feminist”. My findings, based on a dispositional and contextual analysis, show that female friendships provide women with a place where they find respite from men, become aware of gender relations, take action to further their emancipation and receive support for changes made. Furthermore, this research shows the way in which women are shaped by their friendships (being supported or influenced by them), but also how they shape them actively to model their emerging critical dispositions (selecting them, making use of them or moving away from them). It therefore indicates how women are active in modelling their dispositions within the dynamics of gender relations and other social forces.

DOI10.1177/1350506813515856
Refereed DesignationRefereed

Catch me if you can – Configurations of atypical and precarious employment in Switzerland

TitleCatch me if you can – Configurations of atypical and precarious employment in Switzerland
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2013
AuthorsBühlmann, F
JournalEspace, Populations, Sociétés
Volume2013
Issue3
Pagination73-90
Date Published03/2013
Keywordsatypical employment, precarious employment
Abstract

Atypical and precarious employment has become an increasingly important issue in the last 30 years. However, atypical employment includes very heterogeneous forms of work and is difficult to capture empirically. In this paper we propose a configurational approach in order to overcome these difficulties. We conceptualise the labour market as a field and investigate the data of the 2004 sweep of the Swiss Household Panel with a multiple correspondence analysis. We discover four configurations of atypical work and then relate these configurations to possible explanatory factors and possible consequences. Our findings show that in Switzerland only one, very specific configuration of atypical employment leads to social suffering and vulnerability: jobs that combine the absence of biographical prospects, forced flexibility and low wages. Other atypically employed fractions use their specific resources to deploy compensation strategies which render atypical employment socially bearable.

URLhttp://eps.revues.org/5554
DOI10.4000/eps.5554
Refereed DesignationRefereed

A capability approach to restructuring processes: Lessons from a Swiss and a French case study

TitleA capability approach to restructuring processes: Lessons from a Swiss and a French case study
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2013
AuthorsBonvin, J-M, Dif-Pradalier, M, Moachon, E
JournalInternational Journal of Manpower
Volume34
Number4
Pagination382-396
Keywordscapabilities, France, labour law, restructuring, Switzerland, trade unions, voice
Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine to what extent and under which conditions restructuring processes allow workers to effectively voice their concerns, with a view to influencing the restructuring logic and transforming its outcomes. Design/methodology/approach – In-depth case studies with semi-structured interviews, documentary analysis and a survey, all conducted at firm-level (taking also into account the impact of the European Workers’ Council when relevant). Findings – Both settings (be it the Swiss flexible labour law and collective labour agreements or the protective professional status enjoyed by the French workers) do not guarantee the enhancement of workers’ capability set in restructuring processes. Whatever the entitlements and the cognitive and political resources available to the workers, two conditions are crucial to enhancing their capability for work and for voice: workers’ ability to re-build collectives; and an adequate regulatory framework imposing on employers and shareholders the duty to negotiate. Originality/value – The paper suggests another way of assessing restructuring processes and outcomes based on the capability approach, and demonstrates its greater relevance compared to economic or managerialist views of restructuring, based on efficiency and profitability.

DOI10.1108/IJM-05-2013-0096
Refereed DesignationRefereed

La fabrique du compromis sur le marché du travail suisse. Évolutions et défis actuels

TitleLa fabrique du compromis sur le marché du travail suisse. Évolutions et défis actuels
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2013
AuthorsBonvin, J-M, Cianferoni, N
JournalNégociations
Volume20
Number2
Pagination59-71
ISSN1780-9231
Keywordscompromis, convention collective, droit du travail, flexibilité, gouvernance des entreprises, négociation intégrative et distributive
Abstract

La régulation du marché du travail suisse se signale par la volonté des divers acteurs en présence de privilégier les solutions de compromis, que ce soit au niveau politique ou à ceux de la branche et de l’entreprise. Dans ce contexte prédomine un type de négociation largement intégratif où chacun des participants au jeu négociatoire trouve un avantage. Les récentes transformations du marché du travail suisse remettent en cause les fondements de ce modèle. La question se pose dès lors de la possibilité même d’une négociation intégrative: ces évolutions qui tendent à accroître les exigences de flexibilité et la pression à la compétitivité ne risquent-elles pas de déboucher sur des formes de négociation distributives, où les gains d’une partie coïncident avec les pertes de l’autre? L’objectif de cet article consiste à apporter des éléments de réponse à cette interrogation. Après avoir présenté le contexte d’émergence et les caractéristiques principales du modèle helvétique de compromis, il met en lumière les défis posés par les évolutions récentes et les illustre au moyen d’une étude de cas portant sur une entreprise de l’industrie des machines.

DOI10.3917/neg.020.0059
Refereed DesignationRefereed

Migration and reproduction in an urbanizing context. Family life courses in 19th century Antwerp and Geneva

TitleMigration and reproduction in an urbanizing context. Family life courses in 19th century Antwerp and Geneva
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2013
AuthorsSchumacher, R, Matthijs, K, Moreels, S
JournalQuetelet Journal
Volume1
Number1
Pagination19-40
Abstract

This paper investigates the family life course of native and immigrant women in 19th century Antwerp and Geneva, two contexts characterized by rapid population growth, urbanization and immigration. Using data from the COR-sample of Antwerp and from a family reconstitution of Geneva, we analyze individual family life courses in a sequential data perspective. We conceptualize the reproductive life course as a sequence of 4 states: the phase between the entry into reproductive age and marriage (1), the interval between marriage and first birth (2), the period of childbearing (3) and the phase of completed family size (4). The analysis shows an opposition between local immigrants (characterized by long child-bearing periods) and long-distance immigrants (longer periods of completed family size) in Antwerp. In Geneva, natives married at a much younger age than immigrants, which explains why their life course was characterized by a longer period of completed family size.

URLhttp://www.uclouvain.be/459620.html
DOI10.14428/rqj2013.01.01.03
Refereed DesignationRefereed

Access to marriage and reproduction among migrants in Antwerp and Stockholm. A longitudinal approach to processes of social inclusion and exclusion, 1846-1926

TitleAccess to marriage and reproduction among migrants in Antwerp and Stockholm. A longitudinal approach to processes of social inclusion and exclusion, 1846-1926
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2014
AuthorsPushmann, P, Grönberg, P-O, Schumacher, R, Matthijs, K
JournalThe History of the Family
Volume19
Number1
Pagination29-52
Abstract

A longitudinal approach is used to describe and explain processes of social inclusion and exclusion among different groups of migrants in Antwerp and Stockholm (1846–1926), in terms of access to marriage and reproduction. In this way we want to get a better idea about the factors which facilitated or hampered the social inclusion of migrants upon arrival in two different Western European port cities. The results of the discrete time event history analyses show that social inclusion of migrants was easier in Antwerp and became easier over time, while in Stockholm it was more difficult and became even more complicated over time. This finding might be interpreted as the result of greater societal openness in Antwerp, as the Belgian port-city’s economic success depended largely upon foreigners and international trade. Higher odds for social inclusion in Antwerp might also have been related to differences in the chances of finding an urban niche, which in turn might have been a result of disparities in economic and demographic growth. Most likely it was a combination of differences in the local opportunity structure and the level of societal openness. Furthermore, it was found that region and place of birth, age at arrival, historical time period, and, in the case of Stockholm, gender and social class had an important impact on the chances of successful inclusion.

DOI10.1080/1081602X.2013.796889
Refereed DesignationRefereed

Federalism and welfare to work in Switzerland: The development of active social policies in a fragmented welfare state

TitleFederalism and welfare to work in Switzerland: The development of active social policies in a fragmented welfare state
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2014
AuthorsBonoli, G, Champion, C
JournalPublius: The Journal of Federalism
Volume44
Number2
Pagination1-22
Keywordsactivation, federalism, social policy
Abstract

This article is concerned with the impact that federal structures have on the development of welfare to work or activation policies. More precisely, it argues that the incentives and the risks associated with a division of responsibilities among different jurisdictions may constitute an obstacle to broad reforms that promote labor market participation of nonworking benefit recipients. This argument is illustrated with a case study discussing policy responses to a massive rise in caseloads among social assistance recipients in Switzerland. We conclude that the lack of a fundamental reform was the consequence of the incentives provided by the federal structure of the program. These incentives have both encouraged cost shifting among jurisdictions and discouraged involvement of federal level policy makers in a bigger reform.

URLhttp://publius.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2014/05/08/publius.pju025.short
DOI10.1093/publius/pju025
Refereed DesignationRefereed

The challenge of dual career expatriate management in a specific host national environment: An exploratory study of expatriate and spouse adjustment in Switzerland based MNCs

TitleThe challenge of dual career expatriate management in a specific host national environment: An exploratory study of expatriate and spouse adjustment in Switzerland based MNCs
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2013
AuthorsRavasi, C, Salamin, X, Davoine, E
JournalWorking Paper SES
Number447
PublisherUniversité de Fribourg / Universität Freiburg
Keywordscross-cultural adjustment, dual-career couples, expatriation, female expatriates, Switzerland
Abstract

The number of expatriates from global firms has been continuously increasing over the past decades as multinational companies still view expatriation as an important tool for sharing and transferring knowledge, controlling subsidiaries and developing workforce competencies. Expatriate management is still a costly and complex task for multinational companies. Adjustment, which has been defined as an individual's degree of comfort, familiarity and ease with several aspects of a new cultural environment, is considered to play a central role in expatriation success. In a context characterized by the rise of dual career couples, the increasing number of female expatriates and the growing awareness concerning work life balance, private life issues are increasingly important for multinational companies. On the basis of 126 expatriate couples' questionnaires, this paper compares adjustment of male and female expatriates working in multinational companies in a specific host country environment: the Geneva Lake region in Switzerland where many MNCs have settled their European headquarters. Furthermore, our paper investigates the impact of two variables - gender and employment status - on adjustment of expatriate spouses.

URLhttp://doc.rero.ch/record/208749

Les top managers internationaux des grandes entreprises suisses: profils et parcours de carrière

TitleLes top managers internationaux des grandes entreprises suisses: profils et parcours de carrière
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2013
AuthorsRavasi, C
JournalWorking Paper SES
Number445
PublisherUniversité de Fribourg / Universität Freiburg
Keywordsélites managériales, managers internationaux, parcours de carrières, Suisse
Abstract

Les études sur les carrières de dirigeants ou top managers visent traditionnellement à souligner les influences des cadres institutionnels nationaux sur les parcours de carrières. Plus rares sont les études portant sur les carrières de top managers internationaux. Bien que la figure du manager international ait été l'objet de recherche de plusieurs études issues de disciplines différentes, rares sont les études qui font une analyse détaillée des profils et des parcours de carrières. Dans cet article, nous nous sommes intéressés au cas suisse, pays dont les comités de direction des plus grandes entreprises sont caractérisés par une présence importante de top managers étrangers avec un parcours très international. Nous avons collecté et classé des données de type biographique et des informations sur le parcours de carrière des dirigeants des 110 plus grandes entreprises suisses en 2010 (200 personnes pour 207 fonctions exécutives). Nous les avons mises en perspective historique avec les données suisses de 1980 et 2000 et observé plusieurs résultats : une augmentation du nombre de managers étrangers, de plus en plus de formations en économie et management et la coexistence de profils de managers internationaux très diversifiés.

URLhttp://doc.rero.ch/record/205518