MOVING-UP IN THE GLOBAL VALUE CHAINS AND THE QUALITY OF JOBS- EVIDENCE FROM SLOVENIA

MESNER ANDOLŠEK Dana (Ph.D. Associate Professor, University of Ljubljana Faculty of Social Sciences, Kardeljeva pl. 5 SI-1000 Ljubljana), dana.mesner-andolsek@fdv.uni-lj.si
ŠTEBE Janez (PhD. Assistant Professor. University of Ljubljana Faculty of Social Sciences, Kardeljeva pl. 5 SI-1000 Ljubljana)

This article focuses on the relations among business strategies and quality of work life of employees. Study is conducted in a small national export-led transitional economy. We started with the proposition that it is important to understand how managers adopt different employment policies as a response to intense competition pressure in globalized production process. This analysis explored how Slovene firms are inserted in Global Value Chains (GVCs) and what this has to do with the quality of work life of employees. Analysis showed that business strategy is linked to employee relations and quality of work life (QWL).

Keywords: Quality of work life, Global Value Chains, Business strategy, Employee relations, Human resource practices, National export-led transitional economy