IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/ecoind/v44y2023i3p798-826.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Membership in employers’ associations and collective bargaining coverage in Germany

Author

Listed:
  • Uwe Jirjahn

Abstract

While there is a strong overlap between membership in employers’ associations and collective bargaining coverage, the overlap is far from being perfect. Using unique firm-level data from Germany, this study estimates the determinants of the membership in employers’ associations and the coverage by industry-level or firm-level agreements. The analysis particularly focuses on the various constellations of membership and collective bargaining status. The results show that firm-level worker representation, foreign ownership, work organization, firm size, age and East–West differences are important determinants. Altogether, the analysis demonstrates that a more differentiated picture of industrial relations can be obtained by considering both membership in employers’ associations and collective bargaining coverage.

Suggested Citation

  • Uwe Jirjahn, 2023. "Membership in employers’ associations and collective bargaining coverage in Germany," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 44(3), pages 798-826, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ecoind:v:44:y:2023:i:3:p:798-826
    DOI: 10.1177/0143831X221092484
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0143831X221092484
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/0143831X221092484?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Uwe Jirjahn, 2017. "Works Councils and Collective Bargaining in Germany: A Simple Theoretical Extension to Reconcile Conflicting Empirical Findings," Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics (JITE), Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, vol. 173(2), pages 322-346, June.
    2. Freeman, Richard B. & Kruse, Douglas & Blasi, Joseph, 2008. "The same yet different: Worker reports on labour practices and outcomes in a single firm across countries," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 15(4), pages 749-770, August.
    3. Jelle Visser, 2016. "What happened to collective bargaining during the great recession?," IZA Journal of Labor Policy, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 5(1), pages 1-35, December.
    4. Uwe JIRJAHN & Stephen C. SMITH, 2018. "Nonunion Employee Representation: Theory And The German Experience With Mandated Works Councils," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 89(1), pages 201-233, March.
    5. Naylor, Robin & Cripps, Martin, 1993. "An economic theory of the open shop trade union," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 37(8), pages 1599-1620, December.
    6. repec:dau:papers:123456789/10093 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Laszlo Goerke & Markus Pannenberg, 2012. "Risk Aversion and Trade‐Union Membership," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 114(2), pages 275-295, June.
    8. Stewart Thornhill & Raphael Amit, 2003. "Learning About Failure: Bankruptcy, Firm Age, and the Resource-Based View," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 14(5), pages 497-509, October.
    9. John S. Heywood & Uwe Jirjahn, 2014. "Variable Pay, Industrial Relations and Foreign Ownership: Evidence from Germany," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 52(3), pages 521-552, September.
    10. Verena Dill & Uwe Jirjahn & Stephen C. Smith, 2016. "Do foreign owners favour short-term profit? Evidence from Germany," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 40(1), pages 123-140.
    11. Lindbeck, Assar & Snower, Dennis J, 2000. "Multitask Learning and the Reorganization of Work: From Tayloristic to Holistic Organization," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 18(3), pages 353-376, July.
    12. Lindbeck, Assar & Snower, Dennis J., 2001. "Centralized bargaining and reorganized work: Are they compatible?," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 45(10), pages 1851-1875, December.
    13. Mario F. Bognanno & Michael P. Keane & Donghoon Yang, 2005. "The Influence of Wages and Industrial Relations Environments on the Production Location Decisions of U.S. Multinational Corporations," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 58(2), pages 171-200, January.
    14. Marta Martínez Matute & Pedro S. Martins, 2022. "How representative are social partners in Europe? The role of dissimilarity," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 36(4), pages 424-444, December.
    15. Peter B. Doeringer & Christine Evans-Klock & David G. Terkla, 1998. "Hybrids or Hodgepodges? Workplace Practices of Japanese and Domestic Startups in the United States," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 51(2), pages 171-186, January.
    16. Mata, Jose & Portugal, Pedro, 1994. "Life Duration of New Firms," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(3), pages 227-245, September.
    17. Uschi Backes-Gellner & Simone N. Tuor, 2010. "Avoiding Labor Shortages by Employer Signaling: On the Importance of Good Work Climate and Labor Relations," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 63(2), pages 271-286, January.
    18. Giorgio Barba Navaretti & Daniele Checchi & Alessandro Turrini, 2003. "Adjusting Labor Demand: Multinational Versus National Firms: A Cross-European Analysis," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 1(2-3), pages 708-719, 04/05.
    19. Martin Behrens & Markus Helfen, 2016. "The Foundations of Social Partnership," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 54(2), pages 334-357, June.
    20. Mr. Ramana Ramaswamy & Mr. Bob Rowthorn, 1993. "Centralized Bargaining, Efficiency Wages, and Flexibility," IMF Working Papers 1993/025, International Monetary Fund.
    21. Olaf Hübler & Uwe Jirjahn, 2003. "Works Councils and Collective Bargaining in Germany: The Impact on Productivity and Wages," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 50(4), pages 471-491, September.
    22. repec:cii:cepiei:2012-q4-132-4 is not listed on IDEAS
    23. Annika Campaner & John S. Heywood & Uwe Jirjahn, 2022. "Flexible work organization and employer provided training: Evidence from German linked employer‐employee data," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 75(1), pages 3-29, February.
    24. Brändle Tobias & Heinbach Wolf Dieter, 2013. "Opening Clauses in Collective Bargaining Agreements: More Flexibility to Save Jobs?," Review of Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 64(2), pages 159-192, August.
    25. Eve Caroli & John Van Reenen, 2001. "Skill-Biased Organizational Change? Evidence from A Panel of British and French Establishments," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 116(4), pages 1449-1492.
    26. Verena Dill & Uwe Jirjahn, 2016. "Foreign owners and perceived job insecurity: evidence from linked employer-employee data," International Journal of Manpower, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 37(8), pages 1286-1303, November.
    27. Slaughter, Matthew J., 2001. "International trade and labor-demand elasticities," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(1), pages 27-56, June.
    28. Francesca Fabbri & Jonathan E. Haskel & Matthew J. Slaughter, 2003. "Does Nationality Of Ownership Matter For Labor Demands?," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 1(2-3), pages 698-707, 04/05.
    29. repec:bla:annpce:v:89:y:2018:i:1:p:201-233 is not listed on IDEAS
    30. Tony Edwards & Rocío Sánchez-Mangas & Patrice Jalette & Jonathan Lavelle & Dana Minbaeva, 2016. "Global standardization or national differentiation of HRM practices in multinational companies? A comparison of multinationals in five countries," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 47(8), pages 997-1021, October.
    31. Joachim Wagner & John Philipp Weche Gelübcke, 2012. "Foreign Ownership and Firm Survival: First Evidence for Enterprises in Germany," International Economics, CEPII research center, issue 132, pages 117-139.
    32. Anke Hassel, 1999. "The Erosion of the German System of Industrial Relations," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 37(3), pages 483-505, September.
    33. Alison L. Booth, 1985. "The Free Rider Problem and a Social Custom Model of Trade Union Membership," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 100(1), pages 253-261.
    34. Corneo, Giacomo, 1995. "Social custom, management opposition, and trade union membership," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 39(2), pages 275-292, February.
    35. Thomas Paster & Dennie Oude Nijhuis & Maximilian Kiecker, 2020. "To Extend or Not to Extend: Explaining the Divergent Use of Statutory Bargaining Extensions in the Netherlands and Germany," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 58(3), pages 532-557, September.
    36. Hyman, Richard, 1996. "Institutional transfer: industrial relations in Eastern Germany," Discussion Papers, Research Unit: Economic Change and Employment FS I 96-305, WZB Berlin Social Science Center.
    37. Streeck, Wolfgang, 1983. "Between Pluralism and Corporatism German Business Associations and the State," Journal of Public Policy, Cambridge University Press, vol. 3(3), pages 265-283, August.
    38. Milgrom, Paul & Roberts, John, 1990. "The Economics of Modern Manufacturing: Technology, Strategy, and Organization," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 80(3), pages 511-528, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Jirjahn, Uwe, 2024. "Corporate Globalization and Worker Representation," IZA Discussion Papers 16727, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jirjahn, Uwe, 2021. "Membership in Employers' Associations and Collective Bargaining Coverage in Germany," IZA Discussion Papers 14783, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Uwe Jirjahn, 2021. "Foreign ownership and intra-firm union density in Germany," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 42(4), pages 1052-1079, November.
    3. Jirjahn, Uwe, 2024. "Corporate Globalization and Worker Representation," IZA Discussion Papers 16727, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Verena Dill & Uwe Jirjahn, 2014. "Foreign Owners and Perceived Job Insecurity in Germany: Evidence from Linked Employer-Employee Data," Research Papers in Economics 2014-09, University of Trier, Department of Economics.
    5. Verena Dill & Uwe Jirjahn, 2017. "Foreign owners and the quality of industrial relations in Germany," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 38(1), pages 5-25, February.
    6. Uwe Jirjahn & Steffen Mueller, 2014. "Non-union worker representation, foreign owners, and the performance of establishments," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 66(1), pages 140-163, January.
    7. Uwe JIRJAHN & Stephen C. SMITH, 2018. "Nonunion Employee Representation: Theory And The German Experience With Mandated Works Councils," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 89(1), pages 201-233, March.
    8. Uwe Jirjahn & Jens Mohrenweiser & Stephen C Smith, 2022. "Works councils and workplace health promotion in Germany," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 43(3), pages 1059-1094, August.
    9. Uwe Jirjahn & Jens Mohrenweiser, 2021. "Works councils and organizational gender policies in Germany," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 59(4), pages 1020-1048, December.
    10. Uwe Jirjahn, 2013. "Der Beitrag der Arbeitsmarktökonomik zur Erforschung von Gewerkschaften und Tarifvertragsbeziehungen in Deutschland," Research Papers in Economics 2013-03, University of Trier, Department of Economics.
    11. Uwe Jirjahn, 2015. "Research on Trade Unions and Collective Bargaining in Germany: The Contribution of Labor Economics," Research Papers in Economics 2015-10, University of Trier, Department of Economics.
    12. John S. Heywood & Uwe Jirjahn, 2014. "Variable Pay, Industrial Relations and Foreign Ownership: Evidence from Germany," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 52(3), pages 521-552, September.
    13. Mohrenweiser, Jens, 2022. "Works Councils," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1103, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    14. repec:bla:annpce:v:89:y:2018:i:1:p:201-233 is not listed on IDEAS
    15. Uwe Jirjahn, 2022. "On the determinants of bargaining‐free membership in German Employers' Associations," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(6), pages 545-558, November.
    16. Fenet Jima Bedaso & Uwe Jirjahn & Lazlo Goerke, 2022. "Immigrants and Trade Union Membership; Does Integration into Society and Workplace Play a Moderating Role?," IAAEU Discussion Papers 202203, Institute of Labour Law and Industrial Relations in the European Union (IAAEU).
    17. Uwe Jirjahn & Kornelius Kraft, 2010. "Teamwork And Intra‐Firm Wage Dispersion Among Blue‐Collar Workers," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 57(4), pages 404-429, September.
    18. Jaanika Merikull & Tairi Room, "undated". "Are foreign-owned firms different ? Comparision of employment volatility and elasticity of labour demand," Bank of Estonia Working Papers wp2014-1, Bank of Estonia.
    19. Anna Ferragina & Fernanda Mazzotta, 2018. "Firm Employment Resilience and FDI: Evidence from Italy," L'industria, Società editrice il Mulino, issue 4, pages 523-556.
    20. John T. Addison & Paulino Teixeira & Lutz Bellmann, 2023. "Performance and the Conjunction of Better Management Practices and Non-Union Workplace Representation," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 44(1), pages 1-43, June.
    21. Crifo, Patricia, 2003. "La modélisation du changement organisationnel : déterminants et conséquences sur le marché du travail," L'Actualité Economique, Société Canadienne de Science Economique, vol. 79(3), pages 349-365, Septembre.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:ecoind:v:44:y:2023:i:3:p:798-826. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.ekhist.uu.se/english.htm .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.