Managing Employment Relationships in Flexible Labour Markets: The Case of German Repertory Theatres

Abstract

In theatres, `new' forms of employment are rather old. Based on qualitative case study research, this article analyses policies for managing human resources in a German non-profit repertory theatre. Referring to Marsden's theory of employment systems, the article suggests regarding these policies as being embedded in an interorganizational employment system, which comprises rules of job design and task assignment, the labour market, inter-firm institutions and the education system. This employment system for German theatre artists is marked by a high labour mobility and contingent work arrangements, but is also characterized by an ensemble structure providing (temporary) stability of the workforce. By studying how employment relationships are `managed' in theatres and how the organizational level is linked to the field's labour market characteristics, this article aims at contributing to the exploration of institutional prerequisites and organizational consequences of contingent work arrangements. In doing so, the article continues recent efforts to link studies on careers, labour markets and work arrangements in the cultural industries to the `future of work' debate.