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Last decades scholars in the field of human resource management (HRM) have intensely examined the contribution of HRM to organizational performance. Despite their efforts, at least one major research shortcoming can be identified. In general, they have devoted far too little attention to an aspect of HRM potentially beneficial for organizational performance: worker participation, and especially its indirect or representative forms. In contrast, for academics embedded in the industrial relations tradition, worker participation is a prominent theme, even though less emphasized in its relationship with company objectives. One might defend traditional scholars' reservations by arguing that participations main goal concerns workplace democratization and not organizational prosperity. However, several writers state that industrial democracy involving worker participation can channel conflicts of interest between employees and employers and stimulate desired employee attitudes and behavior, consequently enhancing organizational performance (e.g., Gollan, 2006; Ramsay, 1991; Taras & Kaufman, 1999). And, indeed, several studies have shown positive effects of both direct participation (e.g., European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, 1997) and indirect participation (e.g., Addison et al., 2000, 2003; Frick & Möller, 2003) on organizational performance.

Nevertheless, to date, the absence of an integrated model explaining the connection between worker participation and organizational performance leads to the following question that still is in need of an answer: how do direct and indirect forms of participation – separate as well as in combination – affect organizational performance? This chapter aims to contribute to the filling of the aforementioned knowledge gaps. In so doing, we focus on direct and indirect, nonunion participation on the firm level, using a Western European and especially Dutch frame of reference.

Hoping to increase the productivity of their employees, firms provide and expect their employees to use approved mobile apps. However, despite an intuitive appeal, the relationship between information technology usage and productivity is still seen as paradoxical. This study examines the relationship between employees' experience and engagement with business mobile apps provided by employers and its effects on employee work productivity.

Data from respondents who use employer-provided business apps were used to test the hypotheses. Measurement-corrected latent scores extracted from the PLS measurement evaluation were used in regression-centric assessment using PROCESS.

Results indicate that employee-users’ experience-based attributions of the business app, i.e. customization, performance quality and compatibility, have positive effects on productivity mediated by participation intensity. Further, work type (retail vs non-retail) and the depth of the employee user’s experience moderate experience-based attributions' indirect effects on productivity.

Unlike previous studies delving into this topic, this study focuses solely on the mediation and moderation effects for hypothesis testing. Specifically, this study investigates effects conditional on work type (retail vs non-retail), which the authors believe has significant implications for retailing. These findings have interesting implications for both future research and managers.

The purpose of this study is to examine the direct and indirect effect of high and low‐level local union leaders on various forms of member participation.

Interviews and surveys of the leaders and members of an Educators Association operating in the USA were used to explore these complex relationships. Multiple regression, hierarchical regression, and path analyses were used to test direct and indirect relationship and the amount of variance explained by participatory leadership.

Survey results indicate that a member's perception of the participatory style of the local union president positively related to, and explained a significant amount of additional variance in, union activities that require moderate and high levels of effort. No support was found for the workplace representative's direct relationship with various measures of member participation. The indirect effects of the union president's and the workplace representatives’ participatory style on union involvement highlight the importance of various union leadership roles on developing various union attitudes.

Limitations include the cross‐sectional nature of the study, common method bias, and a small sample size (N=113).

Results of the study highlight the importance of the union president in fostering union attitudes and certain forms of union participation. The findings suggest areas for leadership development and training opportunities of union officials.

Unique elements of the study include an exploration of multiple leadership roles on union attitudes and various forms of union participation.

Purpose of This Chapter: In the age of a hyperactive environment, organizations have to find ways to deal with the pressure of low engagement among employees. Hence, the present study aims to explore the types of participative practices for engaging employees in service sector organizations in India and to examine the level of association among the participation practices.

Design / Methodology / Approach: The primary data is extracted from the employees working in the service sector in the northern region of India. An integration of convenience and snowball sampling has been used. Finally, exploratory factor analysis has been employed to analyze the data.

Findings: The analysis emphasizes the effectiveness of engagement-oriented practices for organizations. Financial participation, consultation, and delegation enhance employee inclusion and management decision-making. These practices improve employee engagement, crucial for the well-being of healthcare staff responsible for people’s lives, aligning with the study’s objectives.

Practical Implications: This study offers insights for HRM and development practitioners to improve employee engagement through delegation and respect. Consultation enhances idea generation, reducing conflicts. Financial participation motivates and benefits both employees and management. The implications are valuable for managers and emerging economies, promoting growth through engagement-focused practices.

Originality: This study extends a clear vision to the managers of countries where the governments are trying harder to push the growth of emerging economies. Through the provision of information regarding the utilization of employee participation practices targeted at engagement, economic situations can be enhanced.

This study revisits the area of reliance on budget to evaluate employee performance. It contributes in several ways. First, it updates this traditional research area making it more relevant to the current debate on the use of financial vis-à-vis nonfinancial measures in multidimensional performance measurement systems. Second, it examines the relationship between reliance on budget and budgetary participation in a manner that is different from that used by prior studies. Instead of treating budgetary participation as a moderating variable, the study examines it as a mediating variable. Specifically, the study hypothesizes that reliance on budget as performance measures affects the extent of employee budgetary participation. Third, it incorporates the recent interest by management accounting researchers in organizational fairness into this research area. It hypothesizes that budgetary participation affects the extent of employees’ perceptions of procedural fairness, which, in turn, influences employee job satisfaction and performance. The structural equation modeling results based on a sample of 152 managers indicate that the use of budget targets for performance evaluation is positively associated with employee job satisfaction and performance. However, much of these effects are indirect via (1) budgetary participation and (2) procedural fairness.

Employee participation is in the news because of the stakeholder concept and European legal developments. Argues that for most employees what matters is the working relationship with their boss, rather than indirect forms of representation, such as works councils. If employers are genuine about participation, the prime area of attention needs to be the day‐to‐day behaviour of line managers. This necessitates reviewing the performance, selection and training of line managers. This is also necessary if indirect forms of participation are to work as they too depend on effective and co‐operative line management. Participation also needs to be examined in the context of organisational and national culture and the pressures on an organisation at particular points in time. Too often the topic is addressed as though the objectives can be achieved simply through mechanistic/legal imposition.

The Belgian federal administration has been undergoing a major reform programme since 1999, known as the Copernicus reform. In 2000 a survey was launched by the Minister of Civil Service and Modernisation of the Public Services to assess and measure civil servants’ attitudes towards the reform and to stuimulate employee commitment. This article analyses the survey responses using the participation model of de Leede and Looise. Concludes that the amount of influence civil servants exerted through their participation and involvement in the survey appears to be small. Furthermore, there are criticisms levelled at the ways that the results of the survey have been used.

The paper seeks to report on the results of a regional survey of public sector HR and union representatives' views and experiences of employee voice techniques in the workplace.

The research was based on a descriptive survey and subsequent statistical analysis of significant difference between HR and union representatives in terms of their views on the aims and efficacy of various forms of employee voice initiatives.

A broad range of employee voice mechanisms, both direct and indirect, was identified, many running concurrently, across the sample organisations. The European Union was identified as a significant influence in encouraging voice initiatives in the workplace.

The research, whilst engaging with the views and experiences of representatives from a larger group of organisations, will require subsequent case study research to investigate some of the findings in greater depth.

There are clear implications for management in terms of the potential effect of EU regulations around involvement and participation. There is also evidence that the unions are not being marginalized by more individually‐focused voice initiatives but, conversely, some union representatives' lack of knowledge of the regulations could hamper union long‐term voice strategies.

The paper applies existing employee voice case study theory to a broader range of organisations through a survey approach, whilst demonstrating the practical application of those concepts and models to increase one's knowledge of employee voice techniques currently in use in the public sector.

Employee participation or industrial democracy represents an area of knowledge and practice which has resulted from the attempts of behavioural scientists, employers, unions and governments, to solve some of the people‐based problems at work — labour turnover, absence from work, resistance to change, strikes, and low productivity. In recent years psychologists and others working within personnel departments, consulting firms and academic institutions have been pushing career planning and development as an additional remedy for some of these problems.

This chapter analyzes the determinants of adoption of sharing arrangements by companies. Using propositions from agency and strategic human resource management frameworks predicting the adoption of sharing arrangements, we test the relationships with a large international dataset. The study finds that adoption of sharing arrangements is related to human capital investments, individual incentives, involvement practices, and human resource management practices and that adoption is affected by country differences.