Employee participation in Europe

Abstract

The goal of this study was to identify the determinants of employee participation in organizations across Europe. Power distance, uncertainty avoidance, competition, unionisation, sector, organizational size and business strategy were all expected to influence amount of employee involvement. The hypothesised relationships were contrasted using data from the EPOC survey, a representative survey of over 5,700 organisations located in 10 European Union countries. The results supported all but two of the expected relationships. Power distance and organisational size did not predict amount of participation. A closer look at the relationship between organizational size and employee involvement revealed a significant relationship when type of participation, consultative or delegative, was included in the analysis.