The Determinants of Firm Performance: Unions, Works Councils, and Employee Involvement/High Performance Work Practices

Addison, John T.

doi:10.2139/ssrn.738103

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The Determinants of Firm Performance: Unions, Works Councils, and Employee Involvement/High Performance Work Practices

71 Pages Posted: 7 Jun 2005

See all articles by John T. Addison

John T. Addison

University of South Carolina - Moore School of Business - Department of Economics; IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Date Written: June 2005

Abstract

Drawing on evidence from the United States and Germany, this paper offers a survey of the effects of worker representation (in unions and works councils) and innovative work practices on firm performance. The focus is on the growing links between these two historically separate literatures. The interaction between worker representation and high performance work practices provides a practical means of peering inside the black box of collective voice, even if there is as yet no well-determined hierarchy for productivity performance and certainly no blue-print for the future of unions.

Keywords: Worker representation, employee involvement mechanisms, innovative work practices, training, firm/establishment performance

JEL Classification: J51, J53, M54

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

Addison, John T., The Determinants of Firm Performance: Unions, Works Councils, and Employee Involvement/High Performance Work Practices (June 2005). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=738103 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.738103