TY - GEN A1 - Makhmadshoev, Dilshod A1 - Laaser, Knut T1 - Breaking away or holding on to the past? Exploring HRM systems of export-oriented SMEs in a highly uncertain context: insights from a transition economy in the periphery T2 - International Journal of Human Resource Management N2 - This article advances understanding of the interplay between high levels of environmental uncertainty and HRM challenges and practices of exporting SMEs in the garment industry of Kyrgyzstan. Uncertainty in this post-Socialist country emanates from the complex, conflict-ridden and ongoing process of transition from planned to market-based economy, resulting in a volatile institutional environment with under-developed formal institutions at its core. Drawing on qualitative data and framed by a novel theoretical framework consisting of HRM systems theory, North’s institutional approach and the concept of path-dependency, the article advances knowledge of the distinctive set of HRM challenges faced by SMEs and the contrasting HRM systems adopted by them. The article draws particular attention to how the embeddedness of socialist-era norms and the diffusion of new market-oriented institutional features influence the utilisation of HRM systems in SMEs, whilst also revealing their evolutionary nature in a transition economy context. The article contributes by extending the scope of HRM research to the little-explored transitional periphery of Central Asia and adds to the nascent body of knowledge on HRM in SMEs by offering a more nuanced understanding of HRM systems in exporting SMEs in a highly uncertain context. KW - HRM KW - SME KW - KMU KW - Central Asia Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2020.1841816 SN - 1466-4399 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Thompson, Paul A1 - Laaser, Knut T1 - Beyond technological determinism: revitalising labour process analyses of technology, capital and labour T2 - Work in the Global Economy Y1 - 2021 UR - https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/bup/wge/2021/00000001/f0020001/art00008 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1332/273241721X16276384832119 SN - 2732-4176 VL - 1 IS - 1-2 SP - 139 EP - 159 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Laaser, Knut A1 - Bolton, Sharon T1 - The relational work of compassion and toxicity at a pupil referral unit T2 - Organization N2 - This article contributes to the literature on compassion in organisations by exploring, through the sociology of relational work, how compassion emerges against the backdrop of what is described as structural toxicity; that is, structures, policies and practices that create the material stage upon which compassion may, or may not, materialise. Underfunding, social deprivation and draconian performance measures are all examples of structural toxicities that may trigger relational toxicity, that is conflict, suffering and disconnection at work but also where compassion may emerge in various forms. It is against this backdrop that we seek to address the conceptual and empirical gap in current understandings of compassion in organisations. Theorising from the empirical field, a case is presented in which compassion emerges as a product of the ongoing relational work of teachers in response to structural toxicities that trigger repeated instances of emotional pain and suffering but also joy and engagement with their work and each other. KW - Toxicity KW - Compassion KW - Critical Management Studie Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1177/13505084211015376 SN - 1461-7323 SN - 1350-5084 VL - 28 IS - 6 SP - 976 EP - 992 ER -