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The Determinants of Firm Performance: Unions, Works Councils, and Employee Involvement/High Performance Work Practices

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Author Info
John T. Addison (University of South Carolina (U.S.A.), GEMF/Universidade de Coimbra (Portugal) and IZA Bonn (Alemanha))

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Abstract

Drawing on international evidence, this paper offers a survey of the effects of worker representation (in unions and works councils) and innovative work practices on firm performance. The focus is on the growing links between these two historically separate literatures. The interaction between worker representation and high performance work practices provides a practical means of peering inside the black box of collective voice, even if there is as yet no well-determined hierarchy for productivity performance and certainly no blue-print for the future of unions.

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Publisher Info
Paper provided by GEMF - Faculdade de Economia, Universidade de Coimbra in its series GEMF Working Papers with number 2005-03.

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Length: 63 pages
Date of creation: 2005
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:gmf:wpaper:2005-03

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Related research
Keywords: Worker representation; employee involvement mechanisms; innovative work practices; training; firm/establishment performance;

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
J51 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Trade Unions: Objectives, Structure, and Effects
J53 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Labor-Management Relations; Industrial Jurisprudence
M54 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting - - Personnel Economics - - - Labor Management

References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:

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    Other versions:
  2. Morris M. Kleiner & Jonathan S. Leonard & Adam M. Pilarski, 2002. "How industrial relations affects plant performance: The case of commercial aircraft manufacturing," Industrial and Labor Relations Review, ILR Review, ILR School, Cornell University, vol. 55(2), pages 195-218, January.
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    Other versions:
  6. Addison, John T. & Schank, Thorsten & Schnabel, Claus & Wagner, Joachim, 2003. "German Works Councils in the Production Process," IZA Discussion Papers 812, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  7. Addison, John T. & Teixeira, Paulino, 2004. "The Effect of Worker Representation on Employment Behavior in Germany: Another Case of -2.5%," IZA Discussion Papers 1188, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
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    Other versions:
  12. Addison, John T. & Bellmann, Lutz & Schnabel, Claus & Wagner, Joachim, 2002. "German Works Councils Old and New: Incidence, Coverage and Determinants," IZA Discussion Papers 495, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  13. Schnabel, Claus & Wagner, Joachim, 1992. "Unions and innovation : Evidence from German micro data," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 369-373, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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    Other versions:
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    Other versions:
  17. Ichniowski, Casey & Shaw, Kathryn & Prennushi, Giovanna, 1997. "The Effects of Human Resource Management Practices on Productivity: A Study of Steel Finishing Lines," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 87(3), pages 291-313, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  19. Easton, George S & Jarrell, Sherry L, 1998. "The Effects of Total Quality Management on Corporate Performance: An Empirical Investigation," Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 71(2), pages 253-307, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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    Other versions:
  22. John T. Addison & Claus Schnabel & Joachim Wagner, 2004. "The Course of Research into the Economic Consequences of German Works Councils," British Journal of Industrial Relations, Blackwell Publishers Ltd/London School of Economics, vol. 42(2), pages 255-281, 06. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
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    Other versions:
  34. FitzRoy, Felix R. & Kraft, Kornelius, 1995. "On the choice of incentives in firms," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 26(1), pages 145-160, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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    Other versions:
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Full references

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Felix FitzRoy & Michael Nolan, 2005. "Value of Work: Bargaining, Job-Satisfaction, and Taxation in a Simple GE Model," IZA Discussion Papers 1760, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  2. John T. Addison & Paulino Teixeira, 2006. "Does the Quality of Industrial Relations Matter for the Macro Economy? A Cross-Country Analysis Using Strikes Data," IZA Discussion Papers 1968, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  3. Stefan Bauernschuster & Oliver Falck & Stephan Heblich, 2008. "The Impact of Continuous Training on a Firm’s Innovations," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo Group Munich. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  4. Annette van den Berg & Yolanda Grift & Arjen van Witteloostuijn, 2008. "Works councils and organizational performance. The role of top managers' and works councils' attitudes in bad vis-a-vis good times," Working Papers 08-14, Utrecht School of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  5. Felix Fitzroy & Michael Nolan, 2005. "Value of Work: Bargaining, job-satisfaction, and taxation in a simple GE model," Discussion Paper Series, Department of Economics 0515, Department of Economics, University of St. Andrews. [Downloadable!]
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