Works council effectiveness in subsidiaries of MNCs during reorganizations: Case study evidence from the Netherlands

Internationalization of organizations has been a threat for (national) industrial relations. This study compares three cases to test the influence of works councils on decision-making in multinational companies (MNCs), going through reorganizations. The authors argue it is important to take account of internal factors in the subsidiary, namely the power capabilities and interests of the actors involved. They study these by looking at the network partners of works councils and aligned interests of local management and works council. The findings show that aligned interests form an important prerequisite for positive management attitude, trust and informal relations, positively affecting reorganizations in subsidiaries of MNCs

The economic effects of works councils: channels and conditions. Using secondary data to test a new theoretical model

German studies already have supported the existing positive economic effects of works councils, but failed to explain how these effects are produced. New case study based research from the Netherlands has provided a theory consisting of three channels to create economic impact, also including a set of necessary conditions. This article presents a secondary analysis of this theory with the use of a large data set. This quantitative analysis further supports the theory and contains interesting nuances about how the channels work, in particular about the role of the availability of sufficient works council candidates at elections