German public sector wage restraint has been explained through the presence of a specific type of inter-sectoral wage coordination in the industrial relations system - i.e., export sector-led pattern bargaining. This paper has a twofold ambition. First, as a literature-assessing exercise, I...

German public sector wage restraint has been explained through the presence of a specific type of inter-sectoral wage coordination in the industrial relations system – i.e., export sector-led pattern bargaining. This paper has a twofold ambition. First, as a literature-assessing exercise, I...

The article examines the relationship between lean production and Industrie 4.0 focusing on the question of autonomy in the work process. In contrast to the claim made by official Industrie 4.0 concepts that the autonomy of the employees would increase, we see in the current implementation...

The article examines the relationship between lean production and Industrie 4.0 focusing on the question of autonomy in the work process. In contrast to the claim made by official Industrie 4.0 concepts that the autonomy of the employees would increase, we see in the current implementation...

Airlines have reacted in many ways to the liberalization and privatization of commercial aviation in Western Europe, one of them being outsourcing. The labor unions, for their part, have reacted in unexpected ways to these developments, not cooperating as anticipated by various political...

In a controlled laboratory experiment, we study the impact of monetary instability on work relationships with incomplete contracts. We observe wage inertia, i.e. the reluctance to fully adjust nominal wages to the changes in the value of the currency, and effort inertia, i.e. the reluctance to...

In this paper we introduce reciprocity in labor relations and government sector to investigate how well the real wage rigidity that results out of that arrangement explains business cycle fluctuations in Bulgaria. The reciprocity mechanism described in this paper follows Danthine and Kurmann...

Using cross-country data from the European Company Survey, we investigate the relationship between workplace employee representation and five behavioral outcomes: strike incidence, the climate of industrial relations, sickness/absenteeism, employee motivation, and staff retention. The evidence...

The first part of the study compares the institutional settings of employee representation and collective bargaining in France and Germany. One important difference is that in France, many aspects of collective agreements are defined by labour law, whereas in Germany, collective bargaining...

Countries with strong industrial relations institutions and well-established social dialogue often perform well in terms of economic growth and social cohesion. The weak and fragmented bargaining and low levels of union coverage in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) raise concerns about these...

This paper contributes to a deeper understanding of sector-level bargaining systems and their role for labour market performance. We compare two countries with seemingly similar collective bargaining systems, the Netherlands and Portugal, and document a number of features that may affect labour...

In the face of continuing European market and economic integration, European industrial relations has become more fractured. This fracturing is occurring in two senses. First, the main institutional pillars of the industrial relations dimension of the European social model (or models) are...

This paper investigates the determinants of industrial conflict in companies, using a multi-country workplace inquiry for 2009 and 2013 and various measures of strike activity. The principal goal is to address the effect of formal workplace representation on strikes, distinguishing in the first...

We use a state-level panel data set for the period 1969-2005 to analyze the relative importance of profitability (rate of profit) and industrial disputes (man-days lost to all industrial disputes per worker) in explaining cross-state variations of manufacturing sector performance in India. Using...

We revisit the concept of Diversified Quality Production (DQP), which we introduced about thirty years ago. Our purpose is to examine the extent to which the concept can still be considered tenable for describing and explaining the development of the interaction between the political economy and...

Despite a more recent debate about ever deeper segmentation, the authors argue that since industrialization, Germany has continually experienced a dual labor market. One segment contains the primary segment of better paid and more attractive jobs, while the secondary segment encompasses rather...

Die Landesregierungen haben in den letzten 25 Jahren angesichts Sparzwang und knapper öffentlicher Finanzen massive Personalreduzierungen und Organisationsveränderungen vorgenommen, welche die Handlungsfähigkeit des öffentlichen Dienstes mehr und mehr infrage stellen. Die Beschäftigtenzahl...

This paper provides evidence on the effect of employee representation on working time flexibility in private-sector European establishments. A 2002 European Union directive granted information, consultation and representation rights to employees on a range of key business, employment and work...

There is a growing literature on global Chinese companies, but this tends to be at a very general level. There is little research to date on the effect of Chinese involvement on workers and their unions. Although focussed on one company, SINOHYDRO, this paper addresses questions of importance to...

The dramatic impact of the 2008 crisis on the Italian economy led to policy responses including structural reforms and labour market liberalisation to reverse the worrisome output and employment trends. A key action by the Italian government, the evocatively named Jobs Act of 2014, has deeply...

In many countries, notably across Europe, collective bargaining coverage is enhanced by government-issued extensions that widen the reach of collective agreements beyond their signatory parties to all firms and workers in the same sector. This paper analyses the causal impact of such extensions...

We revisit the concept of Diversified Quality Production (DQP), which we introduced about thirty years ago. Our purpose is to examine the extent to which the concept can still be considered tenable for describing and explaining the development of the interaction between the political economy and...

This volume suggests a new way of doing global history. Instead of offering a sweeping and generalizing overview of the past, we propose a "micro-spatial" approach, combining micro-history with the concept of space. A focus on primary sources and awareness of the historical discontinuities and...

Fundamentals -- What is employee relations? -- The importance of employee relations -- Employee relations and strategy -- In practice -- Employee relations in practice -- Planning and action -- Measurement -- Conclusion -- References -- Index