Determinants of Contingent Employment in Korean Department Stores

국내 대형소매유통업체에서의 비정규직 고용의 결정요인에 관한 연구

This paper examines what determines the use of contingent workers in Korean Department Stores. Drawing on internal labor market, transaction cost & agency, and bureaucracy theories, I hypothesize that four factors affect the use of contingent workers: job characteristics, HRM, occupation, and organizational characteristics. Data from a sample of employers surveyed by the author in 1997 were used to test the hypotheses, and analyses showed the following results. First, consistent with job-based perspective, we find that such job characteristics as firm-specific skill and the level of skill significantly affect the use of contingent workers. But job standardization and outcome measurability have no effects of its use. Second, also we find significant effects on the use of contingent workers of such HRM as scrutiny on employee selection and promotion system. The promotion system has expected effect on its use, but scrutiny on employee selection has opposite effect. Third, we find that occupation significantly affects the use of contingent workers, especially the extent of use of contingent workers of sales service is as five hundred times as that of managerial occupation. Fourth, also consistent with organizational-based perspective, we find that the firm's size significantly has positive effects, and affiliate company and labor union have negative effects. That is, the larger firm's size is, the more possibility of use of contingent workers exists, and the possibilities of its use reduce in case of affiliate company and in front of labor union. Finally, we discuss the implications and limits of theses findings.