Alex Veen’s disciplinary background is industrial relations and international business and management. His main research interests are in Australian industrial relations, international human resource management, and the future of work. His projects predominantly rely on qualitative case study methods, utilising a range of different data collection methods, including interviews.
As part of the Australian industrial relations focused research project, Alex has focused on the interactions between national regulatory frameworks and organizational workplace relations strategies. For example, exploring how regulatory changes impact on management workplace relations strategizing. Having won a Freda and Len Lansbury Early Career Researcher Award in 2018, he’s currently undertaking a new research project around the unilateral termination of enterprise agreements and the impact on enterprise bargaining; investigating the diffusion of employer industrial-agreement making approaches under the Fair Work regime.
In terms of international human resource management, Alex has contributed to two recently published systematic reviews, exploring the contemporary state of the scholarly field in terms of cross-country HRM studies as well as HRM in MNEs.
Alex’s final area of interest is around the future of work, focussing on the impact of technology and new forms of work organisation. In particular, he is investigating platform-based forms of gig work, assessing both worker experiences and societal consequences of these novel forms of work organisation. Previously, he’s also conducted research around future skill and human resource development needs in the construction industry.
Over the years, Alex has contributed to a range of applied research project across different industries, including the mining, construction, manufacturing, maritime, FMCG, and disability care industries. He further contributed to contract research projects for different stakeholders, such as employer associations, trade union federations, and statutory bodies.
Alex is an engaged researcher, and a member of the Executive Committee of the Association of Industrial Relations Academics of Australia and New Zealand as well as a member of the Industrial Relations Society of New South Wales. He is the current Engaged Research Co-ordinator for the Discipline of Work and Organisational Studies and the Book Review Editor for the Journal of Industrial Relations.
