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An adverse health event can affect women’s work capacity as they need time to recover. The institutional framework in the Netherlands provides employment protection during the first two years after the diagnosis. In this study, we have assessed the extent to which women’s employment is affected in the short- and long term by an adverse health event. We have used administrative Dutch data which follow women aged 25 to 55 years for four years after a medical diagnosis. We found that diagnosed women start leaving employment during the protection period and four years later they were about one percentage point less likely to be employed. Women in permanent employment did not reduce their employment during the protection period and reduced their employment with less than 0.5 percentage points thereafter. Furthermore, we found minor adjustments in the working hours in the short term and no adjustments in the long term. Lastly, we found that for wages, and not for employment and hours, adjustments could be related to the severity of the health condition: women diagnosed with temporary health conditions experienced a short-term wage penalty of about 0.5–1.7 percent and those diagnosed with chronic and incapacitating conditions experienced a long-term wage penalty of about 0.5 percent, while women diagnosed with some chronic and nonincapacitating conditions, such as respiratory conditions, experienced no wage changes in the short or long term.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate three hypotheses for the existence of a wage premium between incumbents and employees who are hired from other employers in the external labour market.

The paper presents estimates of wage equations for a sample of externally hired workers and internally promoted employees. It uses an employer‐employee matched data set of Dutch firms from all economic sectors (1998). It controls for various observed characteristics of the firm, the worker and the job.

The estimates reject the hypothesis that firms rely more on observable characteristics for wage formation of external candidates. Nor do the estimates favor the prediction that there is a wage premium due to the option value of risky employees. Finally, employees who are recruited internally have on average a 15 percent higher wage (net of tenure) than comparable employees who are hired from other employers.

It was found that there was a limited possibility of identifying risky employees.

Firms do not reward risky employees; the incumbents seem to be of better quality than the external hirees.

Here the focus is on hirees who were previously employed elsewhere. Usually, a broader definition of external hiring is used.

This study aims to further develop the CLC stage/path’s identification model that distinguishes between path’s emergence (emergence stage), path’s development (growth stage), path’s sustainment (maturity stage), path’s decline (decline stage) and path’s transformation (renewal stage), and by applying it, define the current stage/path of the Demarcated Douro Region (DDR) cluster. The Port wine industry, which is the dominant industry of the DDR cluster, is at the maturity/decline stage – is the same for the cluster itself?

It is a case study with a longitudinal perspective based on the analysis of the dynamics of the parameters of cluster evolution using available secondary sources (cluster identity/brand; number of firms; number of employees; network; innovation; policies and regulations; and external markets – exports), especially addressing the past decade, that represent the stage of maturity/decline of the cluster’s dominant Port wine industry.

The conclusion is that since the 1990s the Demarcated Douro Region has gone through a “path transformation” where during the following 20 years new “anchors” for the cluster were gradually introduced, such as Doc Douro Wines, new forms of consumption of Port wine, tourism and olive oil. Since 2010 the cluster has entered a growth stage/(new) path’s development, where these “anchors” are in steady growth. The Douro brand is becoming more internationally recognized and established, the number of firms and employees is increasing, the network is restructuring with the creation of cluster-specific official institutions, innovation is especially reflected with increasing heterogeneity through diversification of the clusters into new activities and regulations and policies are supportive for expansion – all these parameters are indicating the rise of the new cycle for the cluster. Thus, the DDR cluster represents an attractive business environment and requires attention from regional policymakers to support the cluster’s development. Especially institutions have been highlighted as internal factors driving clusters growth, European integration as an external factor and firms’ strategies of diversification and internationalization as an appropriate de-locking mechanism for new path’s development.

This research contributes to the CLC theory by further developing and applying a CLC stage/path identification model. It provides a better understanding of the dynamics of the DDR cluster that diverge from its dominant industry life cycle, which is relevant for regional policies and firms’ strategies. This study has its limitations. It provides an exploratory application of the theoretical framework proposed, and consequently, no general conclusions are possible yet. More empirical studies with different clusters in different stages are necessary to test the framework.

These findings are useful to policymakers when designing their policies for cluster development but also for clusters’ entities and actors when making their strategic decisions as it allows based on the verification of the established parameter of CLC to identify its current stage/path of development.

The paper presents a theoretically grounded model for CLC identification and for the first time to the best of the authors’ knowledge applies it to a cluster case – the DDR cluster. This case applies the proposed model and illustrates its usefulness. The model provides the tools for a better understanding of cluster dynamics.

The purpose of this paper is to examine whether works councils (WCs) in Belgium have a positive effect on firm performance, notably productivity and profitability, while taking the role of trade unions into account.

The authors first introduce the typical Belgian industrial relations system, discussing the similarities and differences with neighboring countries. This is followed by a brief overview of the relevant literature. Subsequently, the impact of Belgian employee representation on firm performance is estimated by means of OLS, using a newly developed questionnaire administered among Belgian CEOs. Special attention is given to moderating and mediating effects.

The authors find that Belgian WCs have a small (direct) significantly positive effect on labor productivity, but not on profitability. The additional results of the mediation test show tentatively that WCs might affect profitability indirectly, through their impact on productivity. Despite trade unions’ dominance in practice, the findings reveal that their impact is insignificant.

Although nationwide, rich and representative, as well as statistically valid, the data set is rather small (196 usable observations). The data set offers ample opportunities to further explore what makes effective Belgian WCs different from their non-effective counterparts.

The data set is unique, and combines subjective CEO with objective performance data. The data offer the opportunity to do a first study into the special case of Belgium, which has a distinct union-dominated IR regime. In this study, the focus is furthermore on the rarely studied WC-trade union interaction. In addition, subtle moderation and mediation effects are estimated.

The purpose of this paper is to move beyond the usual analysis of the effects of worker representation. Instead of estimating the impact of the mere presence of works councils on business achievements, the focus is on the performance effects of managerial attitudes vis-à-vis worker representation. More precisely, the authors study whether managerial willingness to cooperate with employee representatives and giving them a (timely) say in company policies translates into better company performance.

After an introduction of the typical Belgian workplace representation, the authors briefly discuss the relevant literature and the sample, leading to several hypotheses. The data are from a survey in Belgium complemented with annual report information. Hypotheses are tested with hierarchical OLS regression. Special attention is given to moderating and mediating effects.

The authors find that especially the timing of involving worker representatives in company decision making has a significant impact on labor productivity. More broadly, the authors reveal that these managerial attitudes matter more in larger establishments.

Although nationwide, representative, and statistically valid, the data set is quite small (142 usable observations), which obstructs the application of refined estimation techniques.

Practical advice should be conditional on country context and size class. In Belgium, smaller enterprises can boost their performance by involving the works council rather late in the process. Probably, this has to do with the powerful position of Belgian unions in works councils. The managerial implications for larger Belgian establishments are very different, however. In these cases, earlier involvement of the works council is advised, as this will enhance the establishment’s performance.

Belgian works councils reflect a specific employee representation system that is rarely studied. More broadly, attitudinal effects are under-researched. The data set is unique, combining subjective with objective data, so reducing the risk of respondents’ bias.

This study aims to systematise the links between firms’ strategies (corporate and business) and the cluster dynamics (through the cluster life cycle [CLC] perspective) and propose an integrative framework bridging firms’ strategic behaviour and cluster dynamics (CLC).

The methodology used is an integrative literature review, which provides a distinctive form of research.

The study identifies several links between firms’ strategies (corporate and business) and the cluster dynamics (CLC), namely: (1) firms’ strategies as a triggering factor of cluster evolution; (2) firms’ strategies and path's decline; (3) firms’ strategies and cluster’s renewal; (4) resilience strategies and the cluster life cycle; and (5) cluster’s features and firms’ strategies.

This study contributes to developing strategic management theory and cluster theory by bridging firms' strategies and cluster dynamics (CLC). It proposes a new conceptualisation of the impact of cluster dynamics on firms' strategic choices – firstly, it proposes a specific approach to identify the CLC; and secondly, it develops an integrative framework model that relates firms' strategies and each stage of the CLC. These are theoretical tools relevant for further advancements in this area of research, as they can be applied in studies of different clusters for validation, something that was not done.

The integrative framework is expected to be helpful to company managers, allowing them to design better strategies that account for dynamic cluster environments.

This study aims to fill this gap in the literature by systematising the links between firms' strategies (corporate and business) and the cluster dynamics (CLC).