The comparative advantage of non-union voice in Britain, 1980-2004

Paul Willman, Alex Bryson, Tobias Kretschmer and Rafael Gomez

LSE Research Online Documents on Economics from London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library

Abstract: Non-union direct voice has replaced union representative voice as the primary avenue for employee voice in the British private sector. This study explains this development by providing a framework for examining the relationship between employee voice and workplace outcomes. Voice is associated with lower voluntary turnover, especially in the case of union voice. However, union voice is also associated with greater workplace conflict. We argue changes in voice in Britain are not best understood using a simple union/non-union dichotomy. Union effects on workplace outcomes and the incidence of human resource management hinge on whether it coexists at the workplace with non-union voice in what we term a “dual” system. In the first part of the 21st century, these dual voice systems were performing at least as well as non-union only regimes, suggesting that the rise of non-union regimes is attribu` to something other than clear comparative performance advantages over other forms of voice.

JEL-codes: J24 J51 J52 J53 J63 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013-01
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (17)

Published in Industrial Relations: a Journal of Economy and Society, January, 2013, 52(S1), pp. 194-220. ISSN: 0019-8676

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Journal Article: The Comparative Advantage of Non-Union Voice in B ritain, 1980–2004 (2013)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ehl:lserod:39714

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