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Between trust and control: company‐level bargaining on flexible working hours in the Danish and German metal industries
Author(s) -
Ilsøe Anna
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
industrial relations journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.525
H-Index - 3
eISSN - 1468-2338
pISSN - 0019-8692
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-2338.2009.00552.x
Subject(s) - danish , german , decentralization , bargaining power , business , control (management) , collective bargaining , social partners , power (physics) , industrial organization , social dialogue , labour economics , market economy , accounting , economics , management , microeconomics , philosophy , linguistics , physics , archaeology , quantum mechanics , history
Denmark is often highlighted as a good example of organised decentralisation in which employee bargaining power remains comparatively strong. However, comparative analysis of the Danish case rarely reflects how the social contracts between management and workers' representatives contribute to the bargaining outcome at company level. Drawing on 10 case studies in the German and Danish metal industries carried out in 2005, this article argues that the social contracts at the Danish case companies allow a more efficient use of company‐level agreements on flexible working hours than the social contracts at the German case companies.