IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/zbw/glodps/149.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Foreign Ownership and Intra-Firm Union Density in Germany

Author

Listed:
  • Jirjahn, Uwe

Abstract

From a theoretical viewpoint the relationship between foreign ownership and unionization is ambiguous. On the one hand, foreign owners have better opportunities to undermine workers’ unionization. On the other hand, workers of foreign-owned firms have an increased demand for the protection provided by unions. Which of the two opposing influences dominates can vary according to moderating circumstances. This study shows that firm size and industry-level bargaining play a moderating role. The relationship between foreign ownership and unionization is negative in larger firms whereas it is positive in smaller firms. Coverage by industry-level collective bargaining makes a positive relationship both stronger and more likely.

Suggested Citation

  • Jirjahn, Uwe, 2017. "Foreign Ownership and Intra-Firm Union Density in Germany," GLO Discussion Paper Series 149, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:glodps:149
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/171449/1/GLO-DP-0149.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sourafel Girma & Holger Görg, 2004. "Outsourcing, Foreign Ownership, and Productivity: Evidence from UK Establishment‐level Data," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 12(5), pages 817-832, November.
    2. 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.
    3. 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.
    4. Martin Behrens, 2009. "Still Married after All These Years? Union Organizing and the Role of Works Councils in German Industrial Relations," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 62(3), pages 275-293, April.
    5. Agell, Jonas, 1999. "On the Benefits from Rigid Labour Markets: Norms, Market Failures, and Social Insurance," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 109(453), pages 143-164, February.
    6. Bernd Fitzenberger & Karsten Kohn & Qingwei Wang, 2011. "The erosion of union membership in Germany: determinants, densities, decompositions," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 24(1), pages 141-165, January.
    7. 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.
    8. repec:bla:kyklos:v:51:y:1998:i:2:p:237-57 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. Goerke, Laszlo & Pannenberg, Markus, 2011. "Trade union membership and dismissals," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(6), pages 810-821.
    10. 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.
    11. Christian Bellak, 2004. "How Domestic and Foreign Firms Differ and Why Does it Matter?," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(4), pages 483-514, September.
    12. Slaughter, Matthew J., 2001. "International trade and labor-demand elasticities," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(1), pages 27-56, June.
    13. repec:bla:ecorec:v:69:y:1993:i:206:p:305-14 is not listed on IDEAS
    14. 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.
    15. James R. Markusen, 1995. "The Boundaries of Multinational Enterprises and the Theory of International Trade," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 9(2), pages 169-189, Spring.
    16. 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.
    17. John T. Addison & Alex Bryson & Paulino Teixeira & André Pahnke & Lutz Bellmann, 2013. "The Extent of Collective Bargaining and Workplace Representation: Transitions between States and their Determinants. A Comparative Analysis of Germany and Great Britain," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 60(2), pages 182-209, May.
    18. John W. Budd & Jozef Konings & Matthew J. Slaughter, 2005. "Wages and International Rent Sharing in Multinational Firms," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 87(1), pages 73-84, February.
    19. Elhanan Helpman, 2006. "Trade, FDI, and the Organization of Firms," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 44(3), pages 589-630, September.
    20. John S. Heywood & Uwe Jirjahn, 2002. "Payment Schemes and Gender in Germany," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 56(1), pages 44-64, October.
    21. Pedro S. Martins & Yong Yang, 2015. "Globalized Labour Markets? International Rent Sharing Across 47 Countries," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 53(4), pages 664-691, December.
    22. Gregg, P & Naylor, Robin, 1993. "An Inter-establishment Study of Union Recognition and Membership in Great Britain," The Manchester School of Economic & Social Studies, University of Manchester, vol. 61(4), pages 367-385, December.
    23. Wenzel Matiaske & Verena Tobsch & Simon Fietze, 2009. "Erfolgs- und Kapitalbeteiligung von Beschäftigten in Deutschland. Ergebnisse einer repräsentativen Befragung," Report 018, Werkstatt für Organisations- und Personalforschung.
    24. Jonas Agell, 2002. "On the Determinants of Labour Market Institutions: Rent Seeking vs. Social Insurance," German Economic Review, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 3(2), pages 107-135, May.
    25. 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.
    26. Hausman, J. A. & Abrevaya, Jason & Scott-Morton, F. M., 1998. "Misclassification of the dependent variable in a discrete-response setting," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 87(2), pages 239-269, September.
    27. 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.
    28. 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.
    29. Marino Regini, 1987. "Industrial Relations in the Phase of "Flexibility"," International Journal of Political Economy, M.E. Sharpe, Inc., vol. 17(3), pages 88-107, October.
    30. Sinn, Hans-Werner, . "The New Systems Competition: YRJÖ Jahnsson Lectures," Monographs in Economics, University of Munich, Department of Economics, number 19614, November.
    31. Goerke Laszlo & Pannenberg Markus, 2004. "Norm-Based Trade Union Membership: Evidence for Germany," German Economic Review, De Gruyter, vol. 5(4), pages 481-504, December.
    32. Nicholas Bloom & John Van Reenen, 2010. "Why Do Management Practices Differ across Firms and Countries?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 24(1), pages 203-224, Winter.
    33. Dani Rodrik, 1998. "Has Globalization Gone Too Far?," Challenge, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(2), pages 81-94, March.
    34. 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.
    35. 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.
    36. 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.
    37. Balsvik, Ragnhild & Sæthre, Morten, 2014. "Rent Sharing with Footloose Production. Foreign Ownership and Wages Revisited," Discussion Paper Series in Economics 30/2014, Norwegian School of Economics, Department of Economics.
    38. Andrew B. Bernard & Fredrik Sjoholm, 2003. "Foreign Owners and Plant Survival," NBER Working Papers 10039, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    39. 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.
    40. Mark Wooden & Jeffrey Balchin, 1993. "Unionization in Australia: Evidence from the AWIRS," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 69(3), pages 305-314, September.
    41. Goerke, Laszlo & Pannenberg, Markus, 2010. "An economic analysis of dismissal legislation: Determinants of severance pay in West Germany," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(1), pages 71-85, March.
    42. Jeffrey M Wooldridge, 2010. "Econometric Analysis of Cross Section and Panel Data," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 2, volume 1, number 0262232588, April.
    43. 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.
    44. Sebastian Braun, 2009. "Should trade unions welcome foreign investors? First evidence from Danish matched employer-employee data," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 29(2), pages 1175-1181.
    45. 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.
    46. 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.
    47. Blanchflower, D. & Crouchley, R. & Estrin, S. & Oswald, A., 1990. "Unemployment And The Demand For Unions," Papers 372, London School of Economics - Centre for Labour Economics.
    48. Greene, William, 2010. "Testing hypotheses about interaction terms in nonlinear models," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 107(2), pages 291-296, May.
    49. Corneo, Giacomo, 1995. "Social custom, management opposition, and trade union membership," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 39(2), pages 275-292, February.
    50. Christian Dustmann & Uta Schönberg, 2009. "Training and Union Wages," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 91(2), pages 363-376, May.
    51. Douglas W. Allen, 2007. "The Effect on Divorce of Legislated Net-Wealth Transfers," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 23(3), pages 580-597, October.
    52. Kenneth Scheve & Matthew J. Slaughter, 2004. "Economic Insecurity and the Globalization of Production," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 48(4), pages 662-674, October.
    53. Bishop, John H. & Mane, Ferran, 2001. "The impacts of minimum competency exam graduation requirements on high school graduation, college attendance and early labor market success," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 8(2), pages 203-222, May.
    54. Jun-Koo Kang & Jin-Mo Kim, 2010. "Do foreign investors exhibit a corporate governance disadvantage? An information asymmetry perspective," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 41(8), pages 1415-1438, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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, 2024. "Corporate Globalization and Worker Representation," IZA Discussion Papers 16727, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. 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.
    3. Jirjahn, Uwe, 2021. "Membership in Employers' Associations and Collective Bargaining Coverage in Germany," IZA Discussion Papers 14783, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. 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.
    5. 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.
    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, 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.
    8. 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.
    9. Fenet Jima Bedaso & Uwe Jirjahn, 2024. "Immigrants and trade union membership: Does integration into society and workplace play a moderating role?," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 62(2), pages 262-292, June.
    10. 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.
    11. 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.
    12. 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.
    13. Uwe Jirjahn, 2017. "Globalisierung und betriebliche Mitbestimmung," Research Papers in Economics 2017-05, University of Trier, Department of Economics.
    14. Dobbelaere, Sabien & Kiyota, Kozo, 2018. "Labor market imperfections, markups and productivity in multinationals and exporters," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 198-212.
    15. 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.
    16. Bernd Fitzenberger & Karsten Kohn & Alexander C. Lembcke, 2013. "Union Density and Varieties of Coverage: The Anatomy of Union Wage Effects in Germany," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 66(1), pages 169-197, January.
    17. repec:bla:annpce:v:89:y:2018:i:1:p:201-233 is not listed on IDEAS
    18. Laszlo Goerke & Markus Pannenberg, 2012. "Risk Aversion and Trade‐Union Membership," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 114(2), pages 275-295, June.
    19. Andreas Lichter & Andreas Peichl & Sebastian Siegloch, 2017. "Exporting and labour demand: Micro-level evidence from Germany," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 50(4), pages 1161-1189, November.
    20. Bernd Fitzenberger & Karsten Kohn & Qingwei Wang, 2011. "The erosion of union membership in Germany: determinants, densities, decompositions," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 24(1), pages 141-165, January.
    21. Giovanna Vallanti, 2018. "International capital mobility and unemployment dynamics: Empirical evidence from OECD countries," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(11), pages 3130-3171, November.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Corporate Globalization; Foreign Direct Investment; Union Membership; Firm Size; Centralized Collective Bargaining;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F23 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - Multinational Firms; International Business
    • F66 - International Economics - - Economic Impacts of Globalization - - - Labor
    • J51 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Trade Unions: Objectives, Structure, and Effects
    • J52 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Dispute Resolution: Strikes, Arbitration, and Mediation

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:zbw:glodps:149. 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: ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/glabode.html .

    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.