Abstract
Describes some of the changes which have taken place in business and workforce practices in recent decades. In particular, it focuses on firms' increasing recourse to outsourcing and non-standard forms of employment in pursuit of business flexibility. Argues that, although, from a legal standpoint, the internalization of working activities and permanent employment provide a great deal more flexibility than such practices, business organizations are able to exploit them to obtain de facto flexibility, taking advantage of extra-legal mechanisms. This gives rise to what can be called “hierarchical market relationships”. Adopts a "law and economics" approach, based on transaction costs theories and refers to some results of "relational contract theory", applied both to outsourcing and temporary work contracts.