Knut is a Lecturer in Work and Employment, pursuing habilitation in Sociology at a German Technical University (B-TU) and is a visiting Professor in the Aarhus Business School in 2019 and 2020. In 2019 he was elected to be on the editorial board of the journal Work, Employment Society. In 2014 he organized with Sharon Bolton and Darren McGuire the International Labour Process Conference in Athens, Greece.
You can reach him under his stirling email adress knut.laaser@stir.ac.uk or here: knut.laaser@b-tu.de
Education: Diploma in Sociology and Economics (University of Hamburg), MA in Human Resource Management with Distinction (University of Hamburg), MSc in Sociology (London School of Economics and Political Science), PgCert in Research Methodology (University of Strathclyde), PhD (University of Strathclyde), PGCert in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education (University of Stirling), Fellow of the HEA.
Knut joined the University of Stirling in October 2013 as a full-time Early Career Lecturer from the University of Strathclyde Business School, where he received his PhD. Knut was promoted to a tenured lectureship in 2016.
His research interests are wide ranging- covering the sociology of work, organisations and economic sociology. Specific research projects include
Towards a sociology of the meaning of work (with Prof. Sharon Bolton) A critical approach towards toxic emotions in organisations (with Prof. Sharon Bolton) Financialisation and digitalisation in the financial banking industry in the UK and Germany (With Prof. Dr. Thomas Haipeter) The social consequences of Eletronic Performance Management Systems under financialisation Learning and unlearning: The role of social, cultural and economic capital for the recruitment and selection process in the UK hotel industry Critical approaches to work and organisation in Central Asia
Knut has published in high quality journals. His article 'If you are having a go..." in Work, employment and society has been shortlisted for the SAGE Excellence/Innovation award in 2017. The moral economy approach for studying work and organisations that he developed with Prof. Sharon Bolton is widely utilized in work and organisation studies. The focus of his research includes the UK and EU.
Labour processEconomic SociologyPerformance ManagementOrganisations in the Age of AusterityPolitical Economy Moral Economy Social TheorySociology of Work
Article
Absolute autonomy, respectful recognition and derived dignity: Towards a typology of meaningful work
Laaser K & Bolton S (2022) Absolute autonomy, respectful recognition and derived dignity: Towards a typology of meaningful work. International Journal of Management Reviews, 24 (3), pp. 373-393. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijmr.12282
Book Chapter
Bolton S & Laaser K (2021) Moral Economy of Decent Work. In: Decent Work and Economic Growth. Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals ed. Print; Online: Springer International Publishing, pp. 731-739. springer.com; https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95867-5_115
Article
Makhmadshoev D & Laaser K (2021) Breaking away or holding on to the past? Exploring HRM systems of export-oriented SME in a highly uncertain context: insights from a transition economy in the periphery. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 32 (17), pp. 3627-3658. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2020.1841816
Article
Towards a Sociology of Meaningful Work
Laaser K & Karlsson J (2021) Towards a Sociology of Meaningful Work. Work, Employment and Society. https://doi.org/10.1177/09500170211055998
Article
The relational work of compassion and toxicity at a pupil referral unit
Bolton S & Laaser K (2021) The relational work of compassion and toxicity at a pupil referral unit. Organization, 28 (6), pp. 976-992. https://doi.org/10.1177/13505084211015376
Article
'You have to pick': Cotton and state-organized forced labour in Uzbekistan
McGuire D & Laaser K (2021) 'You have to pick': Cotton and state-organized forced labour in Uzbekistan. Economic and Industrial Democracy, 42 (3), pp. 552-572. https://doi.org/10.1177/0143831X18789786
Article
The Moral Economy of Solidarity: A Longitudinal Study of Special Needs Teachers
Bolton SC & Laaser K (2020) The Moral Economy of Solidarity: A Longitudinal Study of Special Needs Teachers. Work, Employment and Society, 34 (1), pp. 55-72. https://doi.org/10.1177/0950017019871237
Article
A neglected pool of labour? Frontline service work and hotel recruitment in Glasgow
Bolton SC, Laaser K & McGuire D (2019) A neglected pool of labour? Frontline service work and hotel recruitment in Glasgow. European Management Review, 16 (3), pp. 567-578. https://doi.org/10.1111/emre.12172
Article
Laaser K (2019) 'Customers were not objects to suck blood from': Social relations in UK retail banks under changing performance management systems. Industrial Relations Journal, 50 (5-6), pp. 532-547. https://doi.org/10.1111/irj.12267
Book Chapter
The moral economy: flexible employment and layers of disconnection
Bolton SC & Laaser K (2019) The moral economy: flexible employment and layers of disconnection. In: Gall G (ed.) Handbook of the Politics of Labour, Work and Employment. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, pp. 201-213. https://www.e-elgar.com/shop/handbook-of-the-politics-of-labour-work-and-employment
Article
Ethics of care and co-worker relationships in UK banks
Laaser K & Bolton SC (2017) Ethics of care and co-worker relationships in UK banks. New Technology, Work and Employment, 32 (3), pp. 213-227. https://doi.org/10.1111/ntwe.12099
Article
Laaser K (2016) ‘If you are having a go at me, I am going to have a go at you’: The changing nature of social relationships of bank work under Performance Management. Work, Employment and Society, 30 (6), pp. 1000-1016. https://doi.org/10.1177/0950017015617686
Article
Quality Work and the Moral Economy of European Employment Policy
Bolton SC, Laaser K & McGuire D (2016) Quality Work and the Moral Economy of European Employment Policy. Journal of Common Market Studies, 54 (3), pp. 583-598. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcms.12304
Thesis
The moral economy of work and employment in banks
Laaser K (2013) The moral economy of work and employment in banks. Doctor of Philosophy. University of Strathclyde.
Article
Work, employment and society through the lens of moral economy
Bolton SC & Laaser K (2013) Work, employment and society through the lens of moral economy. Work, Employment and Society, 27 (3), pp. 508-525. https://doi.org/10.1177/0950017013479828
Conference Paper (unpublished)
Exploring the management of third sector service diversification
McGuire D, Laaser K & Mackay D (2012) Exploring the management of third sector service diversification. EURAM - European Academy of Management Conference, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, 06.06.2012-08.06.2012. http://euram2012.mindworks.ee/public/papers
Article
Contingent Work and Its Contradictions: Towards a Moral Economy Framework
Bolton SC, Houlihan M & Laaser K (2012) Contingent Work and Its Contradictions: Towards a Moral Economy Framework. Journal of Business Ethics, 111 (1), pp. 121-132. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-012-1439-7
Article
Laaser K (2010) Zum unterschiedlichen Umgang mit Unsicherheit: IT-Spezialisten und Ingenieure als Solo-Selbstständige. Sozialwissenschaften und Berufspraxis, 33 (2), pp. 242-258. http://www.luciusverlag.com/zeitschriften/sub/zeitschrift_sozialwissenschaften.htm
Work, employment, society; Human Resource Management; Sociology; Economic Sociology; Organisation Studies
