"‘Who gains from partnership?' is a topic that has been hotly debated (Roche 2009) and it has been suggested that the ‘balance of advantage' is often skewed towards employers. However, employee testimony remains limited. To address this gap, the paper examines employee evidence on the partnership process and their interpretation of the gains realised over time in a large UK-based subsidiary of an engineering multinational company. The research is part of a larger longitudinal case-study project extending over 5 years. The analysis here draws upon data collected during 2006–2010 and includes 99 interviews alongside nearly 200 matched survey responses, in addition to observational and documentary evidence. We introduce a process model of the ‘hierarchy of gains' and suggest that this helps explain shifts in worker behaviour as a result of partnership."

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