Labour process theory and critical realism

Citation

Thompson P & Vincent S (2010) Labour process theory and critical realism. In: Thompson P & Smith C (eds.) Working Life: Renewing Labour Process Analysis. Critical Perspectives on Work and Employment. London: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 47-69. http://www.palgrave.com/page/detail/working-life-paul-thompson/?isb=9780230222236

Abstract
This chapter explores the potential synergies between labour process theory (LPT) and critical realism (CR). Its purpose is not to suggest that using CR is a substitute for theorising within the LPT tradition. Rather it is to set out the view that CR conceptions of a layered ontology may help to address and resolve some long standing issues about the scope and character of LPT, particularly those associated with the idea of a ‘core' theory, as discussed below and in several chapters within this volume (see also Edwards 2005).

Keywords
labour process theory; critical realism; labour process analysis; Sociology