Plant Relocation Research Articles

Factors affecting post‐relocation adaptation in a case of an entire plant relocation

Pre‐relocation measures as well as measures collected subsequent to it were used to predict employees’ post‐relocation adaptation in a case where an entire plant relocated its premises. The distance between the old and the new site did not require home relocation, with the result that the change was deemed less of a “family issue” than an essentially work and organizational change. The sample consisted of 176 employees, for whom matched before and after questionnaires were available. Pre‐relocation measures included demographics, justification of management’s decision to relocate, and positive and negative emotional reactions to the move. In addition, measures of perceived changes were taken after the move. The three post‐relocation adaptation measures were work satisfaction, loyalty to the organization, and relocation satisfaction. Findings are discussed in the light of previous findings, although most of that research dealt with individual as opposed to plant relocation, and of very few studies dealing with post‐relocation variables.

To move or not to move: Factors affecting employees' actual relocation when an entire plant moves

Plant relocation is an organizational change affecting not only the employees' working life, but also their non‐working life. Most of the previous studies in the field focused on individual rather than plant relocation, and/or measured workers' initial relocation decision rather than their actual mobility. Based on role theory, the current study aimed to explore the impact of the roles of organization member, career holder, and family person, on the employee actual relocation. Prior to a relocation of an entire Israeli plant to a new site, we collected the responses of 91 employees. Afterwards, we tested whether the respondents actually relocated. Using discriminant analysis, the relative contributions of biographical and attitudinal variables associated with the above three roles to the discrimination between movers and non‐movers were determined. The results show that as compared to the non‐movers, movers were younger in age, had higher family support, and intended to remain longer in the organization. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.

Ethics: an American growth industry.

Ethics: an American growth industry.

Flexible Production in Late Industrialization: The Case of Hong Kong

This paper examines how flexible production, as a major contributing factor to Hong Kong’s economic takeoff, has been organized and transformed in the territory’s industrialization process. From a three-pronged view of flexibility that encompasses government-firm, intrafirm, and interfirm relations, I explore how Hong Kong manufacturers tackled constraints in their regulatory environment, labor processes, and business transactions. Up to the mid-1970s regulatory laxity, moderate trade-off between flexible (exploitative) labor practices and productivity, and external economies involving limited mutual commitment between interdependent firms converged to form a unique edge of international competitiveness for the manufacturing sector. But changes in the socioeconomic structure subsequently weakened the conditions on which such types of flexibility were based. Manufacturers were driven to search for alternative ways of profit making, especially in the form of plant relocation to China, which represents a path-dependent extension of the rationale of the existing flexible production system to a different social space. Four existing views on Hong Kong’s economic development are examined and critiqued. Implications of major findings for the flexible specialization debate are discussed.

Race, Space, and Job Accessibility: Evidence from a Plant Relocation

AbstractAlthough recent studies have shown support for the spatial mismatch explanation of minorities' employment difficulties, key questions remain unresolved. This paper is the first report of a longitudinal study designed to shed light on this important hypothesis by studying a Milwaukee food-processing plant that is currently moving from the city's Central Business District to the suburban ring. I document the size of the impending disruption in both distance and travel time and, based on a simple model of time valuation, estimate the costs of the increased commuting time in monetary terms for minorities and nonminorities. The results show that the plant relocation has the potential to induce mismatches between workers' residences and jobs, and that these mismatches will be most severe for minorities. I conclude with a discussion of the implications of the findings for future research on the spatial mismatch hypothesis.

Corporate responsibility and legitimacy: an interdisciplinary analysis

Preface The Assumptions of Corporate Responsibility The Corporate Responsibility Debate The Corporation and Responsibility The Types of Corporate Responsibility The Relations of Accountability Models of the Corporation--I Models of the Corporation--II Theories of Institutional Legitimacy The Four Theories of Corporate Responsibility The Classical Theory of Corporate Responsibility The Response to the Classical Theory The Stakeholder Theory The Social Demandingness Theory The Social Activist Theory The Question of Plant Relocation or Closing--I The Question of Plant Relocation or Closing--II Collective and Subordinate Responsibility Individual and Collective Responsibility The Responsibility of Subordinates The Corporate Responsibility Debate Bibliographic Essay Indexes

Plant Relocation: An Integration of Survey Findings and a Conceptual Analysis

Plant relocation (PR) is a major organisational change, ostensibly focused only upon geographical transfer, but in fact having broad‐spectrum accompanying effects. A conceptual analysis of PR is presented, supplemented by data from 35 interviews with managers and union leaders of organisations having recently relocated. PR is viewed as a catalytic process of turbulent change, radiating upon organisational structures, social processes, and external environmental systems. The uncertainty and turbulence created by PR are shown to affect management‐worker relations, as well as the interrelationships among employees and the distribution of power within the organisation. The potentials of PR as an opportunity for organisational growth and revitalisation on the one hand, and as a period of crisis and turmoil, on the other, are presented. Some general guidelines are proposed for the effective planning and management of relocation.

Correlates of relocation intention and emotional responses to an Israeli plant relocation

AbstractPrior to a relocation of a governmental organization in Israel, 155 workers responded to a questionnaire tapping three criteria: the intention to relocate, positive feelings, and stress reactions. The questionnaire also addressed potential correlates: biographical data, family‐related variables, perceived attitudes of co‐workers, job satisfaction and centrality, and anticipations regarding work and nonwork aspects. The intention to relocate was associated mainly with the perceived attitude of the spouse and the children. Stress experienced was most strongly related to the future job prospects, and the positive emotions were mostly correlated with the perceived favourability of the anticipated changes. The family‐related variables were found to be significantly correlated with all the criteria. These results suggest that organization should direct efforts on spouse and children in order to influence employees' decisions and feelings regarding relocation. This and other implications are discussed.

Industrial Clustering and the Organization of Production: A Point Pattern Analysis of Manufacturing in Cincinnati, Ohio

Abstract The clustering of urban manufacturers occurs for a number of reasons: this paper focuses on the importance of production technology in understanding the degree of industrial clustering. The present analysis uses a sample of Cincinnati manufacturing plants to test several hypotheses that address the relationships between industrial clustering and industrial production technology. Most of the tests use second-order methods to distinguish between the spatial distributions of specified classes of industry. The analysis reveals that the functional disintegration of productive activity leads to increased degrees of industrial clustering in urban space. Furthermore, the dispersal that occurs through plant relocation is not a simple centrifugal process but a subtle modification of the clustered pattern of urban industry.

An Economic Case for Mandatory Bargaining over Partial Termination and Plant Relocation Decisions

An Economic Case for Mandatory Bargaining over Partial Termination and Plant Relocation Decisions

NLRA Preemption of State and Local Plant Relocation Laws

NLRA Preemption of State and Local Plant Relocation Laws

The Bases and Limits of Arbitral Decisionmaking in Plant Relocation and Transfer of Work Disputes

The Bases and Limits of Arbitral Decisionmaking in Plant Relocation and Transfer of Work Disputes

Manufacturing plant location analysis by multiple attribute decision making: part II—multi-plant strategy and plant relocation

In part I, the multiple attribute location analysis for the single-plant strategy was provided. However, practitioners recognize the necessity of multi-plant strategy and the difficulty of relocation problems. In this article, two solution approaches in a multidimensional environment are suggested for these complex location decisions. The conclusion presents a brief discussion of the selection among multiple attribute decision methods and of the case with multiple decision makers.

Plant Relocations: A Philosophical Reflection

A philosophically satisfactory analysis of the plant relocation problem must resist an immediate move to the practical. Such "pragmatism" takes too much for granted. In order to counter the pragmatic temptation, I insist on raising certain moral questions that are natural to those affected by a plant closing. But to answer these questions, or even determine their legitimacy, moral philosophy is not enough. We must proceed to the theoretical question, what is the function of a capitalist in a capitalist society? This consideration suggests a noncapitalist economic model that would resolve the plant relocation problem. From this model, the viability of which is supported by the remarkable Mondragon experiment, we can deduce a series of general prescriptions for activists and a specific agenda for legislative reform. Only after this ground has been covered can the problem of a specific plant relocation be adequately addressed.

The Consumer Politics of Trade Restrictions: The Case of Domestic Content Requirements

Blue‐collar employment in the United States is declining due to a number of factors including the increasing competitiveness of foreign businesses, overseas plant relocation by American firms, and a new wave of automation (e.g., robotics) in “smokestack” industries [2, 13, 20, 27, 33]. From the viewpoint of American consumers, these developments could mean lower prices, improved product quality, and enhanced choice for American consumers. This paper argues, in contrast, that the declining power of organized labor in the United States poses serious issues of identity and strategy for the American consumer movement. These issues are first examined in detail with respect to domestic content legislation and the American auto industry and then considered more broadly in the paper's final section.

Estimation of the cost of air pollution control regulation

Estimates of hydrocarbon pollution control costs under the alternative regulatory approaches of individual source or process standards, plant standards, and regionally marketable permits are presented. The estimates are obtained from data supplied by the DuPont Company based on a 1976 in-house engineering study. The estimation procedure is unique in that the data are based on uniform percentage control across sources while the estimated cost equations allow variable control at each source. The cost simulations show that considerable cost savings are available from allowing firms more flexibility in meeting a given environmental standard. The effect of plant relocation and monopoly in the pollution permit market are also investigated.

Ethical Issues in Plant Relocation

The location of a major new manufacturing plant in a community is often the occasion of great rejoicing. City fathers welcome the enterprise as a vital addition to the town's economy. Visions of augmented tax base to support municipal services, jobs for the unemployed and for entrants into the work force, opportunities for local entrepreneurs to expand markets for goods and services, additional sources of support for civic and charitable endeavors?all these contribute to the euphoria of a new plant in the com munity.

Intra-urban plant relocation: A case study of Greater Manchester

Mason C. M. (1980) Intra-urban plant relocation: a case study of Greater Manchester, Reg. Studies 14, 267–283. Most studies of industrial movement have investigated interregional moves. However, current concern with inner-city decline makes a study of intra-urban movement a relevant issue. An investigation of Greater Manchester between 1966 and 1975 shows that the scale of relocation has been small. Although the movement rate is highest in the inner city the contribution of relocation to employment decentralization is weakened by the small size of migrant establishments, the short distance of most moves and the high level of relocation within the inner city. The clothing and printing industries in particular and small plants in general show a strong attachment to a central location.

Workers' Apprehensions Due to Plant Relocation

The research examined the impact of a planned relocation of a firm in Israel on the apprehensions of its employees. 134 workers were given a 12-item questionnaire which dealt with worries they had concerning their positions after the relocation. Factor analysis of the items indicated two factors, apprehensions relating to the greater distance from home and apprehensions regarding the possible changes in the job situation. Women in non-managerial positions were more apprehensive than men holding similar positions regarding the first factor, while less so regarding the second factor. The only factor which significantly correlated with the workers' intention of leaving the organization after the transfer was the distance from home.

Optimal plant location and air quality management under indivisibilities and economies of scale

The implications of indivisibilities and economies of scale on the optimal location of industrial plants and on the optimal choice of their pollution abatement technologies under given air quality standards are examined. Various optimization models, accounting for abatement, land development and plant relocation costs, as well as for locational economies of scale, are developed, using the integer and mixed-integer linear programming framework. A method for computing taxes and subsidies leading the system to the optimal pattern of decisions under decentralized decision-making is proposed. Finally, an application of the approach with real data of the Haifa region is implemented, illustrating the utility of the approach for environmental management.