naa a22 4500 510735959 CHVBK 20180411083010.0 cr unu---uuuuu 180411e20130901xx s 000 0 eng 10.1007/s11573-013-0673-5 doi (NATIONALLICENCE)springer-10.1007/s11573-013-0673-5 Flexible arrangements with the highly qualified workforce: antecedents and effects of different contract policies in knowledge-intensive firms [Elektronische Daten] [Uta Wilkens, Caroline Ruiner, Monika Küpper] It is the aim of this paper to emphasize the antecedents leading to flexible contract arrangements in comparison to standard employment, and the effects of different contract policies especially for flexible contracting with the highly qualified workforce in knowledge-intensive firms. So far, there are contradictory findings as to what contract arrangement can be considered as advantageous in this field. Our analysis is based on qualitative fieldwork in Germany, including ten company cases. We reveal three organizational types of contract policy: One type relies on permanent employment, another on independent contracting with freelancers and a third pursues a combination of both. We identified the way of generating and protecting knowledge as an antecedent of different contract policies of organizations in knowledge-intensive fields. Another finding is that the question of gaining positive or negative effects—for both standard and flexible contracting—especially depends on the embeddedness of the contract policy in a broader set of HR practices. Our analysis adds to former studies, as it specifies that flexible contracting with an independent workforce in knowledge-intensive work environments can be pursued if there is an efficient substitution for internal control mechanisms in terms of controlling knowledge channels. Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg, 2013 Flexible employment nationallicence Highly qualified workforce nationallicence Knowledge work nationallicence Contract policy nationallicence Wilkens Uta Institute of Work Science, Chair for Human Resources and Work Process Management, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, NB 1/171, Universitätsstr. 150, 44780, Bochum, Germany aut Ruiner Caroline Institute of Work Science, Chair for Human Resources and Work Process Management, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, NB 1/171, Universitätsstr. 150, 44780, Bochum, Germany aut Küpper Monika Institute of Work Science, Chair for Human Resources and Work Process Management, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, NB 1/171, Universitätsstr. 150, 44780, Bochum, Germany aut Journal of Business Economics Springer Berlin Heidelberg 83/8(2013-09-01), 837-861 0044-2372 83:8<837 2013 83 11573 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11573-013-0673-5 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI 1 research-article jats NATIONALLICENCE 856 40 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11573-013-0673-5 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Wilkens Uta Institute of Work Science, Chair for Human Resources and Work Process Management, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, NB 1/171, Universitätsstr. 150, 44780, Bochum, Germany aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Ruiner Caroline Institute of Work Science, Chair for Human Resources and Work Process Management, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, NB 1/171, Universitätsstr. 150, 44780, Bochum, Germany aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Küpper Monika Institute of Work Science, Chair for Human Resources and Work Process Management, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, NB 1/171, Universitätsstr. 150, 44780, Bochum, Germany aut NATIONALLICENCE 773 0- Journal of Business Economics Springer Berlin Heidelberg 83/8(2013-09-01), 837-861 0044-2372 83:8<837 2013 83 11573 Metadata rights reserved Springer special CC-BY-NC licence nationallicence BK010053 XK010053 XK010000 NATIONALLICENCE NATIONALLICENCE NL-springer