Werner Segenberger *
INTRODUCTION
Industrial relations and the production system are closely and intricately linked. The industrial relations system has to adapt to changes in the latter if it is to maintain its effectiveness, while the effects and implications of changes in production and industrial organization are themselves decisively influenced by industrial relations. But contrary to what is often implied, there is nothing automatic or deterministic in the relationship between the two that would enable us to predict the effects of flexible production systems, for example, on trade unions, on collective bargaining, on work organization, or on the number and quality of …