Understanding what makes some workers resist technological change while others accept and facilitate it, may be crucial to the survival of manufacturing firms. This study uses information from managers to analyze the determinants of employees' reactions to technological changes in the production operations of 255 Canadian manufacturing plants between 1985 and 1991. Employee impact on the decision to make technological changes and on implementation of these changes is positive when employees are involved in the change process, when their involvement is direct rather than through a union, and when employees exert direct pressure on management to engage them in the change process.
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