Workplace democracy and job flows

Abstract

This paper investigates the relationship between workplace democracy and job flows by comparing the behavior of worker-managed firms (WMFs) and conventional firms (CFs). The empirical analysis relies on high frequency administrative firm-level panel data from Uruguay over the period April 1996-July 2009. The main findings of the paper are that (1) WMFs exhibit much more stable job dynamics than CFs; (2) both types of firms have decreasing in age and increasing in size gross job creation profiles; (3) there are heterogeneous employment regimes within WMFs: job creation and destruction rates are high for hired workers and very low for members. This paper contributes to the literature on the role of institutions in shaping job flows. Our results have important implications for the understanding of the allocative efficiency effects of worker participation.

Organizational democracy and employee outcomes: The mediating role of organizational justice

“…Since 1990 and specifically after 2003, Academy of Management Annual Meeting conference “Democracy in a Knowledge Economy” and with the August 2004 special topic issue of the Academy of Management Executive “Democracy in and Around Organizations,” this political and western‐based phenomenon received considerable attention from researchers around the world. Nonetheless, in this tenor, literature evidenced that implementing democratic practices at work will promote a number of organizational and employee related outcomes in a positive way including trust and communication (Holtzhausen, , ), job flows (Alves, Burdin, & Dean, ), improved psychological capital (Geckil, Ileri, & Kaya, ), organization citizenship (Geckil & Tikici, ), equality (Oseen, ), higher job satisfaction and commitment (Unterrainer, Weber, & Palgi, ; Vitols, ; Weber, Unterrainer, & Schmid, ), employee well‐being (Vliet, ), socio‐moral climate (Weber et al, ) improved employee health (Foley & Polanyi, ), freedom (Fenton, ), better labor relations (Hickland, ), enhanced productivity and creativity (Deetz, ; Harrison & Freeman, ; Kerr, ), employee voice (Dahl, ), and reduction in violence (Karstedt, ), decreasing the turnover rate (Heller, ; Strauss, 2006); improving work relationships (Gunn, ); decreasing job stress (Franca & Pahor, ; Kalleberg, Nesheim, & Olsen, ); improving the skills and abilities of individuals toward more collaboration (Verdorfer, Weber, & Unterrainer, ). Although there exists a number of studies supporting democratic models for organizations and its related outcomes; yet there are faint whispers for the paradigm of organizational democracy among contemporary scholars in the social and management discourse.…”

Cooperative Essence and Entrepreneurial Quality: A Comparative Contextual Analysis

“…, Alves et al. ). In addition, it has also been shown that despite cooperatives having more egalitarian compensation structures, they suffer from brain drain (high‐ability members are more likely to quit) (Burdín ).…”

“…, Alves et al. ), and into the encouragement of the participation of their workers and members, thereby bringing about an increase in their job satisfaction (Rothschild‐Whitt and Whitt , Miller and Monge , Avey et al. ).…”

“…In practice, this creation of social value is translated, for instance, into the generation of stable and quality jobs (Pencavel et al 2006, Alves et al 2016, and into the encouragement of the participation of their workers and members, thereby bringing about an increase in their job satisfaction (Rothschild-Whitt and Whitt 1986, Miller and Monge 1986, Avey et al 2012. All these attributes contribute to increasing the quality of life and the creation of higher levels of social cohesion and social welfare in communities (Novkovic 2008), giving rise to the so-called cooperative advantage of cooperatives firms over the traditional business models (Spear 2000, Vieta andLionais 2015).…”

“…For instance, results of research are not conclusive about whether productivity and efficiency in cooperatives is greater or lower than in conventional firms (Jones and Svenejar 1982, Fakhfakh et al 2012, Pérotin 2015, Kruse 2016, Monteiro and Straume 2018, Montero 2018. Also, regarding employment, empirical studies have found that although cooperatives eliminate fewer positions, they also seem to create fewer jobs (Pencavel et al 2006, Alves et al 2016). In addition, it has also been shown that despite cooperatives having more egalitarian compensation structures, they suffer from brain drain (high-ability members are more likely to quit) (Burdín 2016).…”