Workplace Flexibilities in the Producer Services

Abstract

The concept of flexibility is now widely used in describing contemporary production systems in manufacturing, but has yet to be extensively measured in the producer services. In this article we explore several aspects of flexibility in a sample of producer service businesses. We document the structure of the labour force in these businesses, and how this labour force structure is changing over time. We also focus on the degree of flexibility in the organisation of the production process, and on the dynamic nature of the service being produced. In addition to exploring why firms are changing their offerings of services over time, we also present information on their utilisation of outside specialists, and on the prevalence of collaboration with other businesses.