Synergy between Direct and Representative Forms of Employee Voice: Evidence from the European Car Components Industry

Abstract

This paper analyses the implications of combining direct and representative forms of worker participation for business performance. Direct participation refers to such things as quality control circles, continuous improvement teams and other problem-solving groups, while representatwe participation refers to joint consultation committees,including those between works councils and management. Using a 1994 survey of first-tier automotive parts plants in Europe, this paper finds evidence that better quality and information sharing result born having both forms of worker participation than having one or the other. The survey also shows that in the fist half of the 1990s, there has been a rapid diffusion of direct participation (together with a commitment to employment security) and a moderate diffusion of indirect participation mechanisms in the UK. While not ruling out legislation, the paper concludes by drawing implications of this finding for a further discussion of these practices through voluntary means.