The case studies and analyses developed in this timely book provide insight into the structural features of small- and medium-sized firms in the information technology sector, and the implications of these features for the careers of people who are employed by them. Using research conducted in Australia, Canada, England and the United States, the contributors explore how individuals manage their paid work within firms that are struggling to survive and compete in global economies. The book discusses the tensions that arise as workers and owners struggle for personal and firm survival, two processes that are often contradictory and occasionally produce conflict. The firms in this study show how the character of the small, New Economy is changing the relationship between employers and employees in increasingly significant ways. A broadly international audience of scholars, students, human resource professionals and policymakers in business, public policy, economics and sociology will find this book of great interest.

The case studies and analyses developed in this timely book provide insight into the structural features of small- and medium-sized firms in the information technology sector, and the implications of these features for the careers of people who are employed by them. Using research conducted in Australia, Canada, England and the United States, the contributors explore how individuals manage their paid work within firms that are struggling to survive and compete in global economies. The book discusses the tensions that arise as workers and owners struggle for personal and firm survival, two processes that are often contradictory and occasionally produce conflict. The firms in this study show how the character of the small, New Economy is changing the relationship between employers and employees in increasingly significant ways. A broadly international audience of scholars, students, human resource professionals and policymakers in business, public policy, economics and sociology will find this book of great interest.