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Self-Selection and the Small Firm Worker-A Critique and an Alternative View

School of Sociology, Kingston Polytechnic

John Stanworth

School of Management Studies, Polytechnic of Central London

The thesis that some manual workers gradually develop a stable set of orientations which leads them to choose to work for small rather than large firms is tested against data from a study of small and large firm workers in the printing and electronics industries. Little support is found for the thesis and an alternative view is presented which suggests that the main reasons why some manual workers come to work in small firms are connected with their overall market situation, the employee selection practices of small and large firms' employers and position in the life cycle. It is also shown that workers' orientations may be more related to industrial subculture than factors associated with size of firm.

Sociology, Vol. 13, No. 3, 427-444 (1979)
DOI: 10.1177/003803857901300304


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