Information and communications technology use in British unions
Critical Perspectives on International Business
ISSN: 1742-2043
Article publication date: 1 June 2005
Abstract
Purpose
Aims to review British labour union leaders’ views on the use and importance of information and communications technology (ICT) within their unions.
Design/methodology/approach
An open‐ended e‐mail survey and personal interviews conducted in 2000‐2001 with union leaders provides the primary original data for this research. Responses are content analysed to assess the importance leaders assign to ICT for unions, to review the ways in which ICT is used, and the costs and benefits associated with ICT use. Charts and verbatim quotes are used to summarise respondents’ views. These views are compared and contrasted with data from the USA.
Findings
Union leaders were generally enthusiastic about the importance of ICT for unions, citing various examples of ICT‐based benefits to their unions. Some, however, expressed reservations about members’ access to ICT and potential “digital divides”, while others warned that ICT may encourage unions to neglect worker desires for “a human touch” in helping them resolve problems. British union leaders’ views generally reinforce findings from an earlier survey in the USA, although direct comparisons are limited.
Originality/value
Provides information on ICT views from a reasonably broad sampling of British union leaders and demonstrates similarity of views across Britain and the USA.
Keywords
Citation
Fiorito, J. and Todd Royle, M. (2005), "Information and communications technology use in British unions", Critical Perspectives on International Business, Vol. 1 No. 2/3, pp. 180-193. https://doi.org/10.1108/17422040510595663
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2005, Emerald Group Publishing Limited