Studies in the 1950s and 1960s were mainly conducted within the factory
setting; hence the name industrial sociology. An example is a study which
will be mentioned in Chapter 3, ‘The Affluent Worker: Industrial attitudes
and behaviours’, carried out by Goldthorpe et al. (1968). Goldthorpe
investigated the ‘embourgeoisement’ thesis. This suggests that a rise in the
income levels of working-class employees results in their adopting middleclass
values. Therefore the class structure of society is seen to be affected
by the behaviour and actions of business organisations