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The purpose of this paper is to identify the role of informal economic relations (IER) in the day-to-day working of organizations, thereby opening a way to theorizing and informed practice. The authors will present and discuss about the manifestation of informality in “everyday” reality of Soviet and transformation economies. Informed by Cultural theory and in particular the work of Gerald Mars, the authors are taking account ontologically and methodologically of Labour process theory.

Through presentation of ethnographic data of detailed accounts and case vignettes in production and retail in the Soviet period of the late 1970s and 1980s and from the construction sector in contemporary Russia, with a focus on the labour process, the authors inform and discuss key processes in the informal working of organizations.

In the Soviet system the informal economy co-existed in symbiosis with the formal command economy, implicitly adopting a “live and let live” attitude. In addition, informal relations were essential to the working of work organizations, sustaining workers’ “negative control” and bargaining power. contemporary Russian capitalism, while embracing informal economic activities, a legacy of the Soviet period, advocates an “each to his own” approach which retains the flexibility but not the bargaining space for employees. That facilitates exploitation, particularly of the most vulnerable workers, with dire consequences for the work process.

The paper provides a platform for theorizing about the role and place of IER in organizations. Of importance to managerial practice, the paper informs on those aspects of the work routine that remain hidden from view and are often excluded from academic discourse. The social implications are profound, shedding light on central issues such as recruitment, income distribution, health and safety and deregulated forms of employment.

The paper examines economic behaviour under different economic-political regimes demonstrating continuities and changes during a fundamental social-economic reorientation of an important regional economy, through close observation at the micro and meso-level of, respectively, the workplace, organizations and industry, outlining theoretical, practical and social implications.

This article analyses the issue of discipline violations in a Russian textile company. Discipline violations proliferated in Soviet times and were tolerated by managers. The cause has been identified in the limited form of control exercised over the production process, resulting from the social relations existing in the Soviet Union. Evidence from the case study indicates that no fundamental change has occurred in this area since the transition. The research documents the material and psychological hardships experienced by workers, the relational practices constraining line managers, and it tries to discern the conceptual and operative limits of disciplinary campaigns by top management.

The paper aims to examine the theory that trade unions' functions in a transitional economy are characterised by “path dependency”.

The research is based on case studies of employment relations in enterprises operating in Moldova. The approach is realist (critical materialism). An ethnographic approach is taken to analysing social relations in three locally and foreign‐owned companies in the clothing sector. The case studies explore union responses to managerially driven re‐structuring.

The research established that these forms of trade unionism exhibit considerable heterogeneity within continued commitment to their welfare functions. This may indicate that the “integrating collectivist” form does not presage a new “path” for Moldovan trade unionism but does demonstrate the bounded diversity within the existing paradigm.

The research studies the unionised sector. Future research might look into non‐unionised Greenfield sites. The research has established that networks are being reconstructed between workers. Whether this will generate a new path for unionism and challenge managerial control remains to be established.

Findings indicate that the welfare function corresponds to workers' historic expectations and may provide a base for unions from which other, more conflictual activity may be conducted. Conversely, it suggests that attention to local norms is essential for employer's strategies aimed at combining efficiency with quality and fairness.

The research unveils the failures of employment relations' institutions to address women workers needs in the area calling for all stakeholders to act on this issue to prevent negative consequences (poverty, migration, turnover).

Institutionalist research on transition has stressed continuity and neglected agency. This research asks how far actors have wished and have been able to reconstitute institutions across time. To this end it has established dialogues with workers and managers making comprehensive sense of their views. Findings are relevant to unionists and employers as well as other stakeholders in transformation societies.

It has long been realized that market-based development tends to impact Third World rural communities by increasing stratification between those who are able to take advantage of increasing opportunities and those who are less fortunate (for instance, Kottak, 1999). An extreme example of this was the early impact of the Green Revolution during the 1960s and 1970s. It more than tripled the productivity of rice in parts of Asia, but on the village level it often had a less benign effect on the wealth gap and the retention of assets by the very poor.¹ Less extreme cases are represented in this volume by Eric Jones and Ueli Hostettler. Both describe instances in which increasing contact with the outside was the main element impacting on rural communities rather than technological innovations in agriculture. They differ, however, in that Jones approaches the subject synchronically by using central place theory and network analysis, while Hostettler’s contribution is decidedly historical in character.

The purpose of this paper is to introduce the employment relations context in South Eastern Europe from a variety of capitalism perspectives. Particular attention is accorded to the uneven nature of change at both the levels of institutions and practice. This is followed by a review of the individual papers that make up this special issue.

This paper is primarily a theoretical one, providing a review of the papers that make up this special issue and giving an overview of the foundation being provided.

While the term “transitional” has often been deployed to describe employment relations across the region, the process has been an extremely protracted one. There is little doubt that the nature and form of employment relations in the countries encompassed in this review is still coalescing, with further ruptures likely as a result of the 2009 depression. At the same time, the papers in this special issue point to long‐standing continuities with employment.

While the papers that make up this special issue may present the most recent research in the region, they also point to future areas for research. First, there is particularly little research that has been undertaken on peripheral areas of a generally peripheral region. Not only do we know very little about, say, Albanian employment relations, but we know little about employment relations in peripheral areas of large countries such as Turkey. Second, the 2009 depression is likely to accelerate trends to downsizing and insecure work, in the short term at least. Finally, there is a growing consensus that a sustainable economic recovery from the current crisis will depend, at least in part, on new social compromises both globally and regionally.

Employment relations in the region are undergoing an extended transition. In the short term, the most likely trend will be towards a further weakening of the bargaining position of employees, and towards more insecure working. However, a sustained recovery is likely to see a reversal of this, with employers being more likely to be forced to contemplate new social compromises.

This study applies the comparative capitalism literature to the South Eastern European region context. It also introduces some of the most recent applied research in the region.

This paper aims to emphasize the significance of integrating sustainable development (SD) content into higher education institutions (HEIs) curricula. The focus is on identifying areas of research demand related to SD in teaching and learning programmes.

This study uses a comprehensive approach, combining bibliometric analysis and an original survey instrument tool. The research involves HEIs staff engaged in both research and teaching roles across 36 countries worldwide.

The findings of the study shed light on the challenges and gaps in incorporating SD into HEIs curricula. Insights reveal that researchers focusing on SD within teaching and learning programmes face a notable obstacle in the form of congested timetables.

While providing valuable insights, this research acknowledges study design and methodology limitations. These limitations should be considered when interpreting the findings and planning future research endeavours in SD in HEIs.

The paper underscores the practical implications of the findings, emphasising the need to address congested timetables as a significant obstacle to sustainability education efforts. The practical insights aim to guide educators and institutions in enhancing the incorporation of SD content in their teaching programmes.

The study’s social implications highlight the broader impact on society, emphasising the role of HEIs in shaping a sustainable future. Addressing the identified challenges can contribute to better preparing students for addressing real-world sustainability issues, thereby fostering positive social change.

This paper concludes by outlining essential measures to address identified challenges and gaps, emphasising the imperative of creating an environment that supports the integration of SD into higher education curricula. The findings provide valuable guidance for educators, policymakers and institutions seeking to enhance sustainability education efforts.

The objective of the research is to explore the importance of online reputation management through some core concepts: technologies and entrepreneurship. Specifically, the research will explore how in a tourism ecosystem context, it is strategically relevant through the use of Big Data Analytics (BDA) to manage and improve online reputation management. An emphasis will also be placed on the concept of entrepreneurship and dynamic capabilities. Finally, the research also explores empowerment issue to shed some considerations on the development of tourists' online reviews.