The study examines US-European productivity and worker attitude differences, focusing on changes in incentive structures. We analyze productivity and worker attitudes in five plants in the UK and US belonging to the same multinational producer of automotive sensors and actuators. We examine the firm's efforts to make complementary changes in product strategy and human-resource policies. In particular, we look at the impact of a Value-Added Gainsharing plan (VAG) that was introduced at different times among the four plants. Our analysis draws on multiple plant visits, surveys of almost all of the workforce, and confidential financial data. Our study offers a rare look inside a low-wage, non-union firm. We find that the VAG had an impact on productivity and profitability. We find that the UK plant's productivity and worker satisfaction was well below that of the US plants. However, neither our analysis nor interviews with managers suggest that differences in national institutions play a key role in explaining these results.
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Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number
13015.
Length: Date of creation: Apr 2007 Date of revision: Publication status: published relationship to a non-chapter. This should not happen. Please contact NBER. Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:13015
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Find related papers by JEL classification: D21 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior D24 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Production; Capital and Total Factor Productivity; Capacity J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials J33 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Compensation Packages; Payment Methods J53 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Labor-Management Relations; Industrial Jurisprudence J81 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Standards - - - Working Conditions L11 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Production, Pricing, and Market Structure; Size Distribution of Firms L2 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior L23 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Organization of Production L25 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Firm Performance L6 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Manufacturing
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