In the 1990s, German employers' associations started offering bargaining‐free membership. Firms can be members without the obligation to adhere to a collective agreement. This study examines the characteristics of firms choosing a bargaining‐free membership. It shows the influence of works...

Firms may underinvest in local environmental protection even from the private viewpoint of its owners and employees, but works councils may help mitigate this problem. We show that increases in environmental investments when councils are present could be employee-led, firm-led, or jointly-led....

Bloom and Van Reenen (2007) have suggested an index of best management practices capturing three broad areas: monitoring, targets and incentives. However, it is an open question whether the functioning of these practices depends on contextual factors. From a theoretical viewpoint, the management...

Although works councils provide a highly developed mechanism to promote workplace democracy, research on their consequences has been dominated by economic aspects. This study brings a new perspective to the understanding of works councils by examining their influence on workers’ political...

Die Rechtstatsachenforschung zur Funktionsweise betrieblicher Mitbestimmung nimmt in ökonomischen und soziologischen Studien eine wichtige Rolle ein. Diese Studien haben allerdings über eine lange Zeit hinweg gesamtgesellschaftliche Implikationen vernachlässigt und ausschließlich jene...