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Active owners and the failure of newly adopted works councils

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  • Jirjahn, Uwe
  • Mohrenweiser, Jens

Abstract

Using representative data from the IAB Establishment Panel, we show that employees in establishments with active owners are less likely to introduce a works council. Moreover, we show that, in case of an introduction, the new works council is less likely to survive if active owners are present. Our findings conform to the hypothesis that active owners oppose codetermination because it reduces the utility they gain from being the ultimate bosses within the establishment.

Suggested Citation

  • Jirjahn, Uwe & Mohrenweiser, Jens, 2013. "Active owners and the failure of newly adopted works councils," ZEW Discussion Papers 13-080, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:zewdip:13080
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    Cited by:

    1. Olaf Hübler, 2015. "Do works councils raise or lower firm productivity?," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 137-137, March.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Active Owner; Works Council Introduction; Works Council Dissolution; Liability of Newness; Employer Resistance to Change;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J50 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - General
    • J53 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Labor-Management Relations; Industrial Jurisprudence
    • J54 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Producer Cooperatives; Labor Managed Firms
    • M54 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Personnel Economics - - - Labor Management

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