Internal labour markets : Theory and practice.

This thesis is a socio-economic study of Internal Labour Markets: markets for workers which are enclosed, either within one firm - the 'Enterprise' type, or within a craft or profession - the 'Craft' type. It is divided into two major sections. Section A provides a theoretical rationale for the existence of the Internal Labour Market. The first chapter considers the neoclassical model, and assesses developments, such as Human Capital Theory, which have been developed to explain persistent rigidities in labour markets. The second chapter shows the evolution of behavioural theories of Labour Market Segmentation. It considers the nature and origins of the Internal Labour Market, and the extent to which it is the cause of the division of the labour market into primary and secondary sectors. The final chapter of Section A examines the Internal Labour Market as an organisational phenomenon engendered by social and management ideologies. Section B is an empirical study of Internal Labour Markets. The objective of this study was to investigate the existence of Internal Labour Markets in a large industrial city, and secondly to establish a set of characteristics by which the Enterprise type of Internal Labour Market could be recognised. The first chapter of Section B explores the methodology of the study. The second chapter analyses the choice of characteristics for data collection. The third chapter shows the results for each characteristic and examines the links between them. This evidence forms the basis of a recognisable model for the Enterprise Internal Labour Market.The final conclusion describes how the Enterprise ILM can be an administrative device to increase efficiency and profitability.