Understanding Worker Participation and Organizational Performance at the Firm Level: In Search for an Integrated Model

Looise, Jan Kees; Torka, Nicole; Wigboldus, J.E.

doi:10.1108/s0742-6186(2011)0000018006

Cited by 6 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 55 publications

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“…This also holds in the works council context; the quality of participation is believed to increase when management and works councillors have shared interests (Looise et al, 2011).…”

Section: Interests Alignmentmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…When employee goals are aligned with those of management, employees may be more likely to act in the interest of the organization, and accordingly productivity may increase (Kato and Morishima, 2002;Peccei et al, 2010). This also holds in the works council context; the quality of participation is believed to increase when management and works councillors have shared interests (Looise et al, 2011).…”

Section: Interests Alignmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…When employees receive more information on management's decisions, they may feel more motivated to work in the interest of the company as a whole, instead of pursuing only their self-interest (e.g. Van den Berg, 2004;Wigboldus, 2011). When we apply this to the case of a reorganization, works councils can take up two types of roles.…”

Section: Dutch Work Councils and Their Role In Reorganizationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, management attitude has been identified by many studies as crucial to works council influence (e.g. Bryson et al, 2006;Poutsma et al, 2003;Van den Berg, 2011a;Wigboldus, 2011). If management adopts a positive stance towards employee participation, works councils can exert their influence more effectively, which in turn may improve performance.…”

Section: Interests Alignmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We do not directly compare works councils of foreign-owned versus domestically-owned subsidiaries, but by basing ourselves on the findings of Looise and Drucker (2002), who find that works councils of foreign-owned organizations are usually worst off in terms of influence, we argue that our inferences about works councils in MNCs are justified. Furthermore, indeed, case study evidence on Dutch works councils (not part of a foreign-owned subsidiary) indicates that those works councils are involved earlier on in decision-making processes, and can have substantial influence on management's decisions (Drucker, 2003;Wigboldus, 2011).…”

Section: Case Selectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Works council effectiveness in subsidiaries of MNCs during reorganizations: Case study evidence from the Netherlands

Sapulete

Berg

2015

Economic and Industrial Democracy

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Internationalization of organizations has been a threat for (national) industrial relations. This study compares three cases to test the influence of works councils on decision-making in multinational companies (MNCs), going through reorganizations. The authors argue it is important to take account of internal factors in the subsidiary, namely the power capabilities and interests of the actors involved. They study these by looking at the network partners of works councils and aligned interests of local management and works council. The findings show that aligned interests form an important prerequisite for positive management attitude, trust and informal relations, positively affecting reorganizations in subsidiaries of MNCs.

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“…This also holds in the works council context; the quality of participation is believed to increase when management and works councillors have shared interests (Looise et al, 2011).…”

Section: Interests Alignmentmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Interests Alignmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Dutch Work Councils and Their Role In Reorganizationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Interests Alignmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Case Selectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Works council effectiveness in subsidiaries of MNCs during reorganizations: Case study evidence from the Netherlands

Sapulete

Berg

2015

Economic and Industrial Democracy

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Employee participation and the influence on job satisfaction of the ‘new generation’ of Chinese employees

Zhu

Xie

Warner

et al. 2014

The International Journal of Human Resource Management

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Careless whispers: confidentiality and board-level worker representatives

Franca

Doherty

2020

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PurposeThe article focuses on the role that ‘confidential information’ plays in relation to the work of board-level worker representatives, and their interaction with other worker participation mechanisms. Thus, the purpose of the paper is to explore the implications of confidentiality of board-level information for effective worker participation. The main argument is that if board-level worker representatives are excessively constrained by confidentiality provisions, their capacity to work effectively is brought into question.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative research was undertaken on a sample of 12 public limited companies in Slovenia. In each company, three interviews were conducted: with the CEO or board member, with a board-level worker representative and with a works councilor, who was not a board-level worker representative (36 interviews in total). Each of these interviewees has a particular role, and interest, in handling confidential information. Thus, a method of triangulation by groups was employed. The interviews were conducted at the company premises during October and November 2017. The results were analysed by the content analysis method.FindingsThis research confirms that in the majority of companies, nearly all of the material and information discussed by the board is deemed to be ‘confidential’. Consequently, communication between board-level worker representatives and the works council is rendered difficult, if not impossible. The results indicate an urgent need to redefine the concept of confidentiality and to reinforce the level of communication between management boards and works councils.Research limitations/implicationsThe research is limited to one country, which, by no means, is fatal, as international comparisons, although of greater breadth, often lose some depth of analysis (especially, for example, where there are differences in legal contexts). Although the issues discussed in the paper are of relevance to all those with an interest in worker participation mechanisms, they cannot be generalised mostly due to national specificities.Originality/valueThe question of confidentiality as between the board, board-level worker representatives, works councils, trade unions and other form of worker representation, despite its importance, has been raised quite rarely in research. In this research, three groups of stakeholders (CEO/board member, board-level workers representative and works council members) have been covered, with the aim to extend the understanding of how confidentiality obligations impact relationships between these.

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Understanding Worker Participation and Organizational Performance at the Firm Level: In Search for an Integrated Model

Cited by 6 publications

References 55 publications

Works council effectiveness in subsidiaries of MNCs during reorganizations: Case study evidence from the Netherlands

Works council effectiveness in subsidiaries of MNCs during reorganizations: Case study evidence from the Netherlands

Employee participation and the influence on job satisfaction of the ‘new generation’ of Chinese employees

Careless whispers: confidentiality and board-level worker representatives

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