New modes of business organization and precarious employment: Towards the recommodification of labour?

While much of the international debate on the future of work focuses on the links between new forms of employment and social protection, and especially on transitions between jobs, this paper addresses a still under-researched issue: the interconnections between employment regulations and business strategies in the production of precarious employment. It seeks to make a contribution to a new strand of research which has emerged in France, Britain and the United States and has cast light on the link between new modes of business organization and new forms of employment. The paper particularly highlights labour recommodification processes as the key instrument in this link and illustrates the dynamics at play in three service sectors known for a high incidence of precarious employment - call centres, performing arts, and domiciliary care for the elderly, in five European countries. Copyright © 2005 SAGE Publications, London, Thousand Oaks and New Delhi.