What Triggers the Establishment of a Works Council?

Jens Mohrenweiser, Paul Marginson () and Uschi Backes-Gellner
Additional contact information
Paul Marginson: Warwick Business School

No 101, Working Papers from University of Zurich, Institute for Strategy and Business Economics (ISU)

Abstract: This paper analyses events that trigger the establishment of a works council and the actor or agent who triggers it. The paper extends previous research in two dimensions. First, we examine specific events that motivate workers to establish a works council, such as a change of owner, founding a spin-off, a firm-acquisition or a radical restructuring. These events express risk protection as workers’ primary motivation for establishing a works council. Second, we analyse the actor or agent who triggers the establishment of a works council and show that management is involved in one third of all cases and has, in a minority of cases, motivated workers to establish a works council. Managerial involvement in the process of establishment reveals a positive managerial response to worker representation.

Keywords: co-determination; workers voice; establishment of a works council (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J32 J53 J83 M54 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 29 pages
Date: 2009-03, Revised 2010-07
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (28)

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http://repec.business.uzh.ch/RePEc/iso/ISU_WPS/101_ISU_full.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
Journal Article: What triggers the establishment of a works council? (2012)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:iso:wpaper:0101

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