Trust-Based Work-Time and Product Improvements: Evidence from Firm Level Data

Olivier Godart, Holger Görg and Aoife Hanley

No 8097, IZA Discussion Papers from IZA Network @ LISER

Abstract: We explore whether the introduction of trust based working hours is related to the subsequent innovation performance of firms. Employing a panel data set of over 5,000 German establishments, we implement a propensity score matching approach where we only consider firms that did not use trust based work contracts initially. Our results show that firms which adopt such contracts tend to be between 11 to 14 percent more likely to improve products. These results hold when we control for another form of flexible time work arrangements, namely working time accounts. Thus, the positive relationship between the adoption of trust based working hours and innovation seems to be driven by the degree of control and self-management over working days, rather than by merely allowing time flexibility.

Keywords: trust based work time; innovation; firm performance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: M12 M54 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 32 pages
Date: 2014-04
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-bec, nep-cse, nep-eff, nep-eur, nep-hme, nep-hrm, nep-ino, nep-lab, nep-ore, nep-ppm, nep-sbm and nep-soc
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

Published - published in: Industrial & Labor Relations Review, 2017, 70(4), 894-918

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Working Paper: Trust-based work-time and product improvements: Evidence from firm level data (2014)
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