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Institutions and the Management of Human Resources: Incentive Pay Systems in France and Great Britain

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  • David Marsden
  • Richard Belfield

Abstract

Using data from large‐scale establishment surveys in Britain and France, we show that incentive pay for non‐managers is more widespread in France than in Britain. We explain this finding in terms of the ‘beneficial constraint’ arising from stronger employment protection in France, which provides an impulse to develop incentive pay; employer networking activities in France, which facilitate joint learning about its development and operation; and government fiscal incentives for profit‐sharing, which reduce the cost of its operation.

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  • David Marsden & Richard Belfield, 2010. "Institutions and the Management of Human Resources: Incentive Pay Systems in France and Great Britain," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 48(2), pages 235-283, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:brjirl:v:48:y:2010:i:2:p:235-283
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8543.2010.00793.x
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    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    Cited by:

    1. Noélie Delahaie & Richard Duhautois, 2019. "Profit‐Sharing and Wages: An Empirical Analysis Using French Data between 2000 and 2007," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 57(1), pages 107-142, March.
    2. Nicholas Oulton & Ana Rincon-Aznar, 2009. "Rates of Return and Alternative Measures of Capital Input: 14 Countries and 10 Branches, 1971-2005," CEP Discussion Papers dp0957, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    3. Nicolas Castel & Noélie Delahaie & Héloïse Petit, 2014. "Diversity of Compensation Policies and Wage Collective Bargaining in France [Diversidad de Política de Compensación y Negociación colectiva de Salario en Francia]," Post-Print hal-01625986, HAL.
    4. Leone Leonida & Antonio Giangreco & Sergio Scicchitano & Marco Biagetti, 2023. "Britain and BrExit: Is the UK more attractive to supervisors? An analysis of the wage premium to supervision across the EU," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 61(2), pages 291-312, June.
    5. Marsden, David, 2010. "The end of national models in employment relations?," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 48913, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    6. Xulia González & Rosa Loveira & Consuelo Pazó, 2022. "Performance pay, firm size and export market participation: Evidence from matched employer–employee data," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 36(3), pages 342-366, September.
    7. Doellgast, Virginia & Marsden, David, 2019. "Institutions as constraints and resources: explaining cross-national divergence in performance management," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 89978, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    8. Sila, Urban, 2009. "Can family-support policies help explain differences in working hours across countries?," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 28684, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    9. Mirella Damiani & Fabrizio Pompei & Andrea Ricci, 2023. "Tax breaks for incentive pay, productivity and wages: Evidence from a reform in Italy," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 61(1), pages 188-213, March.
    10. Michaël Zemmour, 2013. "Les dépenses socio-fiscales ayant trait à la protection sociale : état des lieux," Working Papers hal-01064750, HAL.
    11. Biagetti, Marco & Giangreco, Antonio & Leonida, Leone & Scicchitano, Sergio, 2020. "BrExit or BritaIn: Is the UK more Attractive to Supervisors? An Analysis of Wage Premium to Supervision across the EU," GLO Discussion Paper Series 510, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    12. Thomas Amossé & Philippe Askenazy & Martin Chevalier & Christine Erhel & Héloïse Petit & Antoine Rebérioux, 2016. "Industrial Relations and Firms’ Reactions to the Recession: A Comparative Micro-Econometric Analysis of France and Great Britain [Relations sociales et ajustements à la crise : une analyse micro-st," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) hal-02172455, HAL.
    13. Sarah Ashwin, 2021. "In memoriam David Marsden 1950–2021," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 59(4), pages 979-981, December.
    14. Valeria Pulignano & Andrea Signoretti, 2016. "Union Strategies, National Institutions and the Use of Temporary Labour in Italian and US Plants," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 54(3), pages 574-596, September.
    15. Nicolas Castel & Noélie Delahaie & Héloïse Petit, 2011. "Quels modes de négociation face à des politiques salariales renouvelées ?," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) hal-00646434, HAL.
    16. Patrice Laroche & Mathieu Floquet & Loris Guery & Chloé Guillot-Soulez & Anne Stévenot, 2013. "Les relations entre épargne salariale et rémunérations: une analyse des stratégies et de la cohérence des pratiques," Post-Print hal-01376120, HAL.
    17. Petr Petera & Jana Fibírová, 2015. "Basic Approaches to Profit-Sharing and Ideas for Utilization [Základní přístupy k "profit-sharingu" a náměty na další využití]," Český finanční a účetní časopis, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2015(3), pages 97-117.
    18. Thomas Amosse & Alex Bryson & John Forth & Heloise Petit, 2023. "The Micro-Foundations of Employment Systems: An Empirical Case Study of Britain and France," DoQSS Working Papers 23-04, Quantitative Social Science - UCL Social Research Institute, University College London.
    19. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/6o65lgig8d0qcro9oj599gl90 is not listed on IDEAS
    20. David Marsden, 2010. "Individual Voice in Employment Relationships: A Comparison Under Different Collective Voice Regimes," CEP Discussion Papers dp1006, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    21. Davide Antonioli & Paolo Pini & Roberto Antonietti, 2014. "Flexible pay systems and labour productivity: Evidence from Emilia-Romagna manufacturing firms," Working Papers 2014143, University of Ferrara, Department of Economics.
    22. Thomas AMOSSÉ & Philippe ASKENAZY & Martin CHEVALIER & Christine ERHEL & Héloïse PETIT & Antoine REBÉRIOUX, 2019. "Industrial relations and adjustments to the crisis: A comparative micro‐statistical analysis of France and Great Britain," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 158(3), pages 463-487, September.
    23. Noélie Delahaie & Richard Duhautois, 2013. "L'impact des dispositifs collectifs de partage des bénéfices sur les rémunérations en France. Une analyse empirique sur la période 1999-2007," Working Papers halshs-00967479, HAL.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J3 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs
    • J5 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining
    • M5 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Personnel Economics
    • M52 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Personnel Economics - - - Compensation and Compensation Methods and Their Effects

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