Determinants of Internal Labor Markets in Organizations

Jeffrey Pfeffer and Yinon Cohen Data from a sample of about 300 large establishments in the San Francisco Bay area were used to study internal labor markets. The extent to which internal labor market arrangements were present was positively related to the provision of training, to being in the industrial core, to having a personnel department, and to being a branch unit. Internal labor market arrangements were negatively related to the percentage of the work force covered by collective bargaining. Once other factors were controlled, there was no effect of change in size on internal labor market practices. A similar pattern of results was observed when manufacturing and nonmanufacturing establishments were analyzed separately, although the effects of size, training, and having a personnel department were stronger in nonmanufacturing organizations. The evidence suggests that organizational variables as well as economic considerations should be incorporated in explanations of the presence of internal labor markets.e