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Contains fulltext : 249582.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access) This article aims to establish the connection between people’s voice at work and their political voice. We theorize and model a spillover mechanism from supervisors’ responses to workplace voice to political participation. Applying structural equation modeling on a unique dataset (N = 3129), we find that while support and suppression of workplace voice both affect political participation, they do so through different mechanisms. In addition, we find that supervisors’ suppressive responses to employees’ voice can trigger both positive and negative effects on different forms of political participation. Thereby, we contribute to the understanding of the link between participation at work and participation in politics. 30 september 2020 21 p.

This study examines what workers do when their supervisor is not responsive to their voice. Based on mobilization theory and theories on organizational dissent, the authors hypothesize alternatives for workers expressing discontent when their initial complaints are ignored or punished by their supervisor under various co-worker support conditions. The hypotheses are tested using a large- N dataset while applying a vignette design. The findings show that workers are less likely to (repeat) voice within the organization and more likely to seek help outside the organization when a supervisor threatens to punish future voice endeavours. Co-workers’ supportive and participative responses to voice increase the likelihood that workers keep their voice within the organization and have mixed effects on the likelihood that workers seek support elsewhere.

Contains fulltext : 226192pub.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access) We study atypical workers’ experiences with voice of in the Netherlands. We take a relational approach to worker voice and hypothesize that atypical workers are particularly vulnerable to refrain from voice and to experience suppression. We test our hypotheses using unique data on workers’ actual experiences with voicing discontent and supervisors’ responses (N = 4708; collected in 2017 and 2018). We find that temporary and freelance work, job insecurity, replaceability and precarious values are barriers to worker voice. Job insecurity and precarious values are associated with less support and more suppression from supervisors. These insights offer a valuable contribution to scholarly and public debates on atypical work by demonstrating how it not only affects workers’ job security, income stability and entitlements but also reduces workers’ ability to speak up and solve problems at work. 01 mei 2020

This study is the first to explore the effect of political socialization in the workplace on populist attitudes. We investigate the effect of workplace voice suppression on employees' populist attitudes and voting. We expect employees who were suppressed by supervisors to hold more populist attitudes and to be more likely to vote for a populist party than employees who were not. We argue that some employees experience voice suppression by supervisors as stressful, so splitting is likely to be employed as a defense mechanism. Splitting is achieved through cognitive distinction and antagonism between "the good workers" and "the crooked bosses." Such a split mental framework can generalize into a worldview that contrasts "the pure people" and "the corrupt elite," a core characteristic of populism. We predict that the extent to which suppression triggers splitting and consequentially incites populist attitudes and voting depends on employees' acceptance of power distance. We test our hypotheses using SEM on survey data from 2990 members of the Dutch labor force. Our results show that experiences of voice suppression are positively related to populist attitudes and populist voting. As expected, this effect is stronger for employees who are less accepting of power distance.

We investigate differences in deviant behavior between temporary workers and permanent workers and study the moderating role of workplace cohesion. We distinguish between task cohesion, which reflects the way colleagues work together as a team to complete tasks, and social cohesion, which reflects how well colleagues relate. We predict that task cohesion and social cohesion prompt norms on tolerating group members’ deviant behavior and test our hypotheses on the Work and Politics 2016 data set, consisting of 787 Dutch employees. We find that temporary work does not lead to deviant behavior per se, but its effect on deviant behavior is moderated by workplace cohesion. We conclude that the distinction between task cohesion and social cohesion is crucial for understanding the effect of temporary work on deviant behavior.

This study examines the relationship between employee voice suppression by workplace authorities (i.e. supervisors) and the formation of employees' attitudes towards political authority. We test whether the effect of experienced voice suppression by supervisors on employees' preference for authoritarian governance is positive, negative or nonlinear. The hypotheses are tested on original data gathered within the Dutch Work and Politics Survey 2017 (N = 7599), which allows for a wide range of demographic and organisational control variables. The results favour a nonlinear effect of suppression on employees' authoritarianism. These results support the notion that political attitudes are dynamic and that the workplace plays a role in shaping them.

As enterprises that are owned and governed by workers themselves for their mutual benefit, worker cooperatives are currently re-emerging as a promising antidote against precarity and economic dependence in the gig economy. Considering the social and geographic fragmentation of gig workers, it remains unclear whether cooperatives can count on the member commitment necessary to survive. This study investigates whether preference deviation and social disembeddedness stifle the commitment of gig workers to such cooperatives. A cross-sectional survey was used to gather data from members of four interconnected cooperatives in Italy that consist of gig workers in the cultural, ICT and education sectors ( n = 425). The results show that members with more deviating preferences and less social embeddedness among fellow members have a lower commitment towards their cooperative. These findings demonstrate the conditions for gig workers’ commitment to cooperatives, being a key factor in cooperative longevity.

Contains fulltext : 226276.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access) Much research is devoted to the relationship between populist parties and democracy. However, relatively little is known about the relationship between citizens’ populist attitudes and democracy. This article examines the relationship between populist attitudes, support for democracy, and political participation (voting, protest, support for referendums, and support for deliberative forms of participation). Using survey data from the Netherlands, this article shows that individuals with stronger populist attitudes are more supportive of democracy, are less likely to protest, are more supportive of referendums, and are more supportive of deliberative forms of political participation compared to individuals with weaker populist attitudes. Results show no relationship between populist attitudes and voting. These findings provide important insights into the relationship between populism, democracy, and political participation from a citizen’s perspective. 29 juni 2020 25 p.

Populist parties claim that democratic regimes fail to deliver results that are in line with what ‘the people’ want. To address this policy outcome failure, they favour direct democracy (especially when in opposition). Yet we do not know whether populists’ proposed solution—referendums—resonates with ‘the people’ it wishes to empower. This study fills this gap. First, we analyse to what extent citizens with populist attitudes favour referendums. Second, we analyse to what extent populist attitudes are linked to the decision to vote in the 2016 Dutch referendum about the EU–Ukraine Association Agreement. Third, we analyse to what extent these attitudes are linked to their vote choice. To answer these questions, we use the Dutch 2016 National Referendum Survey. Among others, we find that populist citizens are more likely to favour referendums and they are more likely to cast a ‘No’-vote, regardless of their party preference and trust in government.

Purpose This paper aims to analyse the impact of an intra-team conflict on the social relations within a team. The team conflict was triggered by a strike action which separated the team in two groups, the strikers and the worker, who continued to work. After the strike was settled, all had to work again cooperatively. This paper analyses how the strike action affects work and private social networks among workers. Design/methodology/approach The authors combine a qualitative ethnographic approach with quantitative network data. Findings The authors find that the strike action led to a separation between the former group of strikers and non-strikers. While the subgroups become more cohesive and their social network density increased, the links between both groups diminished. Research limitations/implications This study reveals that strikes and the accompanying separation of the workforce can improve social relations within the team, if individuals behaved alike during the conflict. Practical implications For managers, the results raise questions concerning typical managerial behaviour during strikes, as managers frequently trigger separation by trying to convince some individuals to continue to work. Instead, groups may even improve their performance after a strike, if they were allowed to behave alike by all joining the strike or refraining. Originality/value This study is the first to analyse social relations after a conflict. The authors combine qualitative and quantitative data and show the evolution of a social network after a strike. Moreover, they separate private communication flows and work-related communication and show that both networks do not necessarily evolve equally after a conflict.

Verzorgingsstaten zijn populair in Europa. Ondanks de vele maatschappelijke discussies over wie waar recht op heeften waarom, over de bureaucratie van sociale diensten, over de hoogte van de uitkeringen en de kwaliteit de zorg, blijkt uit langdurig opinieonderzoek dat de sociale legitimiteit van de verzorgingsstaat staat als een huis. Een overgrote meerderheid van de Europeanen steunt het feit dat de staat herverdeelt om ongelijkheid in risico's en inkomen terug te dringen. En eenzelfde grote meerderheid vindt dat de overheid de geeigende instantie is om ervoor te zorgen dat de ouderen pensioenen krijgen, er gezondheidszorg is voor de zieken en uitkeringen voor werklozen.

Extant public management studies examining the management of environmental challenges predominantly concentrate on the management of the erratic dimension of environmental challenges, that is, shocks. Whereas there is strong evidence that environmental shocks can be effectively managed, much less is known about more predictable environmental constraints that, likewise, challenge the organization’s functioning. The present article studies the moderating effects of managerial networking on the negative relation between environmental constraints—that is, red tape—on organizational performance. We hypothesize that red tape negatively affects public service performance. We further hypothesize that “downward,” “upward,” “sideward,” and “outward” managerial networking orientations attenuate the negative effect of red tape on public service performance. The hypotheses are tested on a data set of Dutch primary schools ( n = 523), which includes managerial networking and perceived red tape variables as well as objective, independently measured, school performance data. The results show that perceived personnel red tape negatively affects school performance but that perceived general external red tape positively affects school performance. The negative effect of personnel red tape on school performance is attenuated by “outward”-oriented managerial networking.

This article studies how the support workers expect from colleagues for strike participation affects their willingness to participate in a strike. We formulate hypotheses on the effects of anticipated social support for participation as well as anticipated social support for nonparticipation. We include the potentially mediating effect of social identification and the social costs of (non-)participation. We test our hypotheses on survey data of 725 Dutch employees collected in 2010. Using structural equation modeling techniques, we find that the support for participation has a stronger positive effect on the willingness to strike than the support for nonparticipation has on the willingness to strike. In addition, our findings suggest that union membership substitutes the effect of social support of colleagues.

Universities across the world have recently experienced a number of serious cases of academic misconduct. In the public and academic debates, one dominant explanation exists for the fraudulent behaviour of university staff. Academic misconduct is considered to be the logical behavioural consequence of output-oriented management practices, based on performance incentives. This article puts this explanation to the test. Based on our analysis of a dataset of employees in Dutch higher education (N = 4,775) from 2010 and 2012, we argue that performance indicators have a positive impact on higher education professionals' perception of integrity in their work environment.

Activists are the engines of social movements. What spurs their activism? This article scrutinizes the role of civic participation in stimulating political action. We examine how the type of voluntary organization, scope of involvement and intensity of activity relate to political activity. Contrary to existing studies that collapse noninstitutional political activities into a single measure, we differentiate collective activities from individualized activities, enabling us to investigate how the type, intensity and scope of civic participation differentially stimulate political activities. Our sample included 14,787 participants in 71 street demonstrations. We show that membership and interest in activist organizations stimulates political activity, especially for those actively involved and especially for collective noninstitutionalized activities, while membership in leisure organizations only stimulates individualized political activities, but not collective activities. We therefore conclude that civic participation is a multifaceted phenomenon associated with various political activities in different ways.

The present study seeks to answer the question how, and to what extent, environmental turbulence—measured as percentage change in the number of pupils—affects organizational performance. We examine how different managerial networking orientations moderate the effect of percentage change in number of pupils on school performance. We hypothesize that percentage change in the number of pupils negatively affects school performance. We further hypothesize that different managerial networking orientations moderate the effect of percentage change in the number of pupils on school performance. The hypotheses are tested on a dataset of Dutch primary schools ( n = 546), which includes information about school principals, school characteristics, and school performance. Results of the analyses show that our measure of environmental turbulence negatively affects school performance. Moreover, internally oriented networking activities (team involvement and networking for coproduction), rather than externally oriented networking activities, attenuate the negative effect of environmental turbulence on school performance.

Contains fulltext : 158977.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Closed access) We investigate how information spillovers from other negotiations affect conflict in bargaining. Two theoretical mechanisms are studied: (1) social comparisons, which are hypothesized to increase conflict due to self-serving biases, and (2) rational learning, which is hypothesized to decrease conflict by reducing information asymmetries. Our experimental design allows for an interactive bargaining process and offers full control over the information available to negotiators. Consistent with studies of one-shot games, we find that spillovers resulting from social comparisons increase conflict; however, the bargaining process mitigates this effect. In bargaining situations in which spillovers also allow for rational learning, the conflict-increasing effects of spillovers are prevented.

Hoewel de positieve relatie tussen tijdelijk werk en rechts-populisme regelmatig wordt geopperd, is er tot op heden weinig empirisch bewijs voor gevonden. In deze studie bestuderen we tijdelijke en vaste werknemers in Nederland en onderzoeken we (1) of er een relatie is tussen contracttype en PVV-stemintenties, en (2) in hoeverre deze relatie beïnvloed wordt door economische kenmerken van sectoren. We leiden hypothesen af uit het insider-outsiderperspectief en de 'verliezers van mondialisering'-these. Wij toetsen onze hypothesen met de Work & Politics 2016-dataset. Gebruikmakend van multilevel regressieanalyse vinden wij geen bewijs voor een direct verband tussen contracttype en PVV-stemintenties: in het algemeen geldt dat tijdelijke werknemers niet meer geneigd zijn om PVV te stemmen dan vaste werknemers. Wel blijken economische kenmerken van sectoren van belang: in sectoren met een hogere vacaturegraad zijn tijdelijke werknemers meer geneigd om PVV te stemmen. Wij concluderen dat wanneer de vraag naar arbeid hoger is, werknemers met een tijdelijk contract zich als meer achtergesteld beschouwen, en daarom eerder geneigd zijn PVV te stemmen.

Conflict in wage bargaining is affected by information about other bargaining units and information about the past of the bargaining unit. We develop a theoretical framework for such spillovers and detail four distinct mechanisms. Rational learning and social comparisons are reviewed as mechanisms for the influence of information about other bargaining units, and reputation and expectation effects are reviewed as mechanisms for the influence of information about the past of the bargaining unit. Building upon a previous experimental study, we implement an unstructured, time-limited, two-person bargaining game with asymmetric information and investigate the impact of reputation and expectation effects. The experimental treatments vary with respect to spillover-inducing information available to the participants. The results suggest that reputation effects decrease conflict, whereas expectation effects tend to increase conflict. Moreover, reputation effects diminish the influence of social comparisons but can augment the effects of rational learning.

This paper seeks to answer two questions: 1- To what extent are negotiators in collective bargaining influenced by different types of external information? 2- How can differences in the influence of external information between negotiators be explained by the characteristics of the negotiators and bargaining units? A standardized questionnaire measuring self-reported influences of different types of external information was developed and administered to a representative sample of union and firm negotiators in the Netherlands. In total, 123 negotiators participated in the survey. Four types of external information were investigated: 1- economic information; 2- information on organizational power; 3- institutional information; and 4- information spillovers. Descriptive analyses show that economic information, particularly when referring to the sector level, was very influential, as was institutional information on national and sectoral collective agreement developments. Information reflecting organizational power, e.g. militancy, carried less weight, while information on other bargaining events, i.e. spillover, was also very important. From extant theory, empirical findings and common assumptions in labour relations literature, the paper developed and tested a number of hypotheses concerning the influence of external information. It was found that the influence of spillovers increased with the proximity of their source. Union negotiators were generally more influenced by external information than firm negotiators. There was some evidence that influence increased with experience, but this effect was rather modest. Evidence that negotiators in sector bargaining were less affected by the economic environment than negotiators in company bargaining was weak, but they were found to be less influenced by spillovers and international collective agreement developments., Cet article cherche à répondre à deux questions : 1- dans quelle mesure les personnes négociant une convention collective sont-elles influencées par divers types d’information externe; et 2- comment les différences d’influence de l’information externe entre les personnes négociatrices peuvent être expliquées par les caractéristiques de ces personnes et les unités de négociation. Un questionnaire standardisé cherchant à mesurer les influences auto-déclarées de divers types d’information externe a été développé et administré à un échantillon représentatif de négociateurs et négociatrices de syndicats et d’employeurs dans les Pays-Bas. Au total, 123 négociateurs ont participé à l’enquête.Quatre types d’information externe ont été étudiés : 1- information de nature économique; 2- information relative au pouvoir organisationnel; 3- information de nature institutionnelle; et 4 information relative aux effets de débordement des négociations. Les analyses descriptives montrent que l’information de nature économique, particulièrement au niveau sectoriel, s’avère très influente, tout comme l’information de nature institutionnelle portant sur les développements nationaux et sectoriels des conventions collectives. L’information reflétant le pouvoir organisationnel, tel le militantisme, aurait moins de poids, alors que l’information concernant d’autres aspects liés à la négociation — par exemple, l’effet de débordement —, s’avère très important.Selon la théorie existante provenant de résultats de recherches empiriques et d’hypothèses couramment admises dans la littérature des relations de travail, cet article développe et vérifie un certain nombre d’hypothèses concernant l’influence de l’information externe. Il s’avère que l’influence des effets de débordement s’accroit à mesure qu’on se rapproche de leur source. De plus, les négociateurs syndicaux sont généralement davantage influencés par l’information externe que leurs vis-à-vis patronaux. Il appert aussi que l’influence s’accroît avec l’expérience, bien que cet effet demeure modeste. L’idée que les personnes négociant au niveau sectoriel sont moins influencées par l’environnement économique que celles négociant au niveau de l’entreprise n’est pas vraiment accréditée par les résultats. Dans cette enquête, il ressort qu’elles sont moins influencées par les effets de débordement et par les développements de convention collective au niveau international., Este artículo pretende responder dos preguntas: 1- ¿Hasta qué punto los negociadores de la convención colectiva son influenciados por los diferentes tipos de información externa? 2- ¿Las diferencias en la manera cómo la información externa influencia los negociadores pueden ser explicadas por las características de dichos negociadores y de las unidades de negociación? Un cuestionario estandarizado fue elaborado con medidas auto-reportadas de la influencia de los diferentes tipos de información externa. El instrumento fue administrado a una muestra representativa de negociadores sindicales y patronales en los Países Bajos, obteniendo la participaron de un total de 123 negociadores. Cuatro tipos de información externa fueron investigados: 1- la información económica; 2- la información sobre el poder organizacional; 3- la información institucional; y 4- las externalidades de la información. Los análisis descriptivos que la información económica, particularmente aquellas que conciernen el sector, fueron muy influentes, mientras que la información institucional influenció el desarrollo de la negociación a nivel nacional y sectorial. La información sobre el poder organizacional, por ejemplo, el militantismo, tuvo un peso menos importante, mientras que la información sobre otros aspectos de la negociación, tales que las externalidades, fue también muy importante. A partir de la teoría, los resultados empíricos y los postulados comunes en la literatura sobre relaciones laborales, el artículo desarrolló y verificó algunas hipótesis sobre la influencia de la información externa. Fue corroborado que la influencia de las externalidades aumenta con la proximidad de la fuente. Los negociadores sindicales fueron en general más influenciados por la información externa que los negociadores patronales. Los resultados sugieren que la influencia se incrementa con la experiencia pero este efecto fue más bien modesto. Fue también débil el resultado indicando que los negociadores de nivel sectorial fueron menos afectados por el contexto económico que los negociadores de nivel empresarial. Pero la evidencia fue sólida en el sentido que los negociadores de nivel sectorial fueron menos influenciados por las externalidades y el desarrollo de la negociación colectiva internacional.

Contains fulltext : 141017.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Closed access) We study multilevel interactions using experimental methods. Does the efficiency of a production team suffer from the freeriding behavior of some team members at the firm level? Can we identify behavioral spillovers affecting teams? We isolate common tasks that teams must complete – coordination and cooperation – and model each of them using a simple experimental game that is designed to avoid identification problems. By observing a team's efficiency before and after the firm-level event, we identify the behavioral spillovers of freeriding to team-level cooperation and coordination. We demonstrate that team composition with respect to freeriding behavior of individual members during the firm-level conflict conditions behavioral spillovers. In particular, the efficiency of heterogeneous teams decreases after a firm-level conflict, whereas homogeneous teams can improve their performance. 10 p.

Research on the supply side of politics demonstrates that populism acts as a common denominator even though populist parties possess very different ideological positions. However, it is uncertain whether this translates to the demand side: Do voters support left and right-wing populist parties for similar reasons? Using the Netherlands as our case study, we investigate the common demand side characteristics of supporters of populist radical right and populist radical left parties. The paper concludes that populist attitudes (i.e. a people-centered notion of political representation) unify supporters of both populist radical left and populist radical right parties. Supporters of both parties also demonstrate lower levels of political trust (than voters for other parties): this is particularly the case for PVV supporters. Beyond these similarities we find that the PVV and the SP attract very different supporters. PVV supporters demonstrate low immigrant tolerance, while SP voters support more income equality.

This article addresses the question of whether, and to what extent job flexibility is detrimental to mobilization with regard to the willingness to take part in industrial action. The authors examine the influence of job flexibility (‘standard’ versus ‘non-standard’ work) and job instability (changes from one job to another) on employees’ willingness to strike. Based on Dutch survey data it is shown that only minor differences exist between ‘standard’ and ‘non-standard’ employees in their willingness to participate in a strike. While this study did not establish a major direct effect of job flexibility on strike participation, tests of interaction effects reveal that job flexibility moderates other mobilizing factors, such as union membership and job dissatisfaction. Job instability, on average, has no effect on strike participation.

This paper studies how employees anticipate change in social relations after a strike in their organisation. We hypothesise that two group norms affect employees' fear that a strike deteriorates the social relations with their colleagues. We distinguish between two different norms associated with a collective action problem such as a strike. A ‘solidarity norm’ prescribes that workers should participate in collective protest when called for. A ‘free rider punishment norm’ describes whether and how violators of the solidarity norm should be treated. While the former itself theoretically does not impact intra-group social relations, the latter one does. We test our hypotheses on a data set of 468 Dutch union members. Adherence to the free rider punishment norm significantly increases a fear for deterioration of social relations with colleagues after a strike, while adherence to the solidarity norm does not. We also find a moderating effect of expected proportion of strikers. The results are discussed with reference to industrial relations theory and mobilisation theory, further probing into mechanisms that relate social norms to the (anticipated) costs of participation and the quality of social relations after a strike.

We investigate two questions regarding the effect of information on participation in labor strikes: First, how are social identification and trust used as filters for information? Second, we investigate how cross-pressures affect willingness to participate. Using a dataset of 468 union members, we test hypotheses about the relationships between information, identification, trust, and participation with structural equation modeling. Specifically, we find that information from and identification with the union are highly important determinants of participation. Regarding information from management, trust is the most important determinant for preventing workers from participation. We also find a difference between workers who have previous strike experience and those who do not. These findings indicate that workers use different mechanisms for filtering information, depending on the source of information. This is a new discovery in mobilization research.

This article studies how participation norms affect workers’ willingness to strike. A factor analysis on the responses of 468 Dutch union members about appropriate behavior during a strike produces two factors. The first factor reflects a “solidarity norm” favoring group solidarity; the second factor reflects a norm about the treatment of defecting colleagues, which we call the “free-rider-punishment” norm. Using OLS regression, we show that adherence to these norms significantly affects union members’ willingness to strike, controlling for group identification, and past participation in strikes. This article contributes to a deeper understanding of how solidarity and free-rider-punishment affect future participation.

In dit onderzoek bestuderen we de verschijningsvormen van directe en indirecte werknemersparticipatie in de Europese Unie. De onderzoeksvragen luiden: (1) welke vormen van directe en indirecte werknemersparticipatie kunnen onderscheiden worden?, (2) in hoeverre gaan deze vormen van indirecte en directe werknemersparticipatie samen binnen organisaties?, en (3) in hoeverre hangen vormen van (in)directe werknemersparticipatie samen met (a) werknemerswelzijn en (b) (economische) prestaties van de organisatie? Gebruikmakend van de ECS-2013 analyseren we 24.251 bedrijven in de 28 EU-lidstaten. Op basis van latente klassen analyse onderscheiden we vier typen indirecte werknemersparticipatie en vijf typen directe werknemersparticipatie, die zich onderscheiden in de mate waarin deze participatie wordt gefaciliteerd. We vinden weinig ondersteuning voor de hypothese dat directe werknemersparticipatie ingezet wordt om indirecte participatie te vervangen: de combinatie van uitgebreide directe en indirecte participatie blijkt het meest gangbaar. Uit de multilevel analyses blijkt dat uitgebreidere vormen van directe en indirecte participatie samengaan met positieve uitkomsten voor de organisatie (bedrijfsprestaties) en haar werknemers (werknemerswelzijn).

Contains fulltext : 162925.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Closed access) In this article, we investigate how communication and trust networks between employees affect participation in a strike. We analyze whether the strength of network relations is related to congruence in strike behavior using social network data on 59 Dutch workers. We find that private communication networks and trust networks lead to similar strike behavior. This finding indicates that networks not only promote protest mobilization but are also vehicles for demobilization, albeit through different network relations.

Contains fulltext : 162930.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access) This study examines the extent to which strikes diffuse across sectors and to what extent this diffusion of strikes can be explained by similarities and interdependencies between sectors. For this purpose, the authors examine a unique temporally disaggregated and dyadic database on strikes in Dutch sectors during the 1995–2007 period. Based on a series of discrete-time event-history models, their study clearly supports the relevance of intersectoral interdependencies to understanding when strikes in one sector are followed by strikes in other sectors. Sector-to-sector labor mobility has a significant and positive impact on the diffusion of strikes across sectors.

Contains fulltext : 144883.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Closed access) Using unique survey data on Dutch collective agreement negotiators, the authors model how information about other collective bargaining events influences the probability of negotiators encountering bargaining impasses or industrial action during collective bargaining. Competing hypotheses about this influence, derived from economic, social psychological and sociological approaches, are tested. The findings indicate that information about bargaining outcomes elsewhere has no significant effect on the occurrence of conflict. However, if the information content of spillover refers to the conflict potential in other bargaining events and the sources of information are proximate, the probability of conflict is increased. This suggests that sociological mechanisms offer a compelling alternative to those invoked in economics for explaining the relationship between spillover and conflict. 04 december 2014 20 p.

Contains fulltext : 66993.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Closed access) This paper develops a theory of policy implementation in a specific category of multilevel policy-making systems. In state centric policy systems, regulatory agencies can drift away from 'hard' decisions. In multilevel systems, relatively autonomous levels of decision-making sometimes implement voluntary, non-binding recommendations and guidelines. In this paper, we adapt the 'state of the art model' of policy implementation in order to analyse the implementation of 'soft' policies in these multilevel systems. We propose a new dependent variable of policy implementation: cross-level policy coherence. To explain cross-level policy coherence, a ratification hypothesis is derived from the theory of 'two-level games', while two hypotheses regarding agenda coordination and outcome coordination are derived from the concept of collective support for policies. We apply the adapted model to the implementation of the 1997 national Dutch social pact 'Agenda 2002' in the sectoral collective bargaining agreement in the metal industry in 1998. The empirical evidence rejects the ratification hypothesis and corroborates the two coordination hypotheses, suggesting that the implementation of 'soft', non-binding policies can be coordinated across autonomous levels. 28 p.

The purpose of this article is to find indicators of the substantive incentives for industrial conflict. We argue that collective decision-making models can be helpful in developing such a measurement tool. These indicators will enable scholars in industrial relations to distinguish the substantive incentives from other reasons for calling out strikes, e.g. union internal political incentives or trade union competition for members. The models we use are the expected utility model of Bruce Bueno de Mesquita and the exchange model of Frans Stokman and Reinier van Oosten. These models differ in their assumptions on how the collective bargaining process proceeds. The expected utility model is based on the assumption that actors reach collective decisions after threats and conflict. The exchange model is based on a cooperative strategy. Our indicators of industrial conflict are tested on a data set with information on 29 collective agreement negotiations in which 90 trade unions are nested. The data set contains instances of both industrial conflict and peaceful settlements of collective agreements. The results show that the indicator based on the expected utility model is a good indicator of industrial conflict, whereas that based on the exchange model is a poor one. This seems to contradict findings in previous applications of both models of collective bargaining, in which the exchange model provided the most accurate predictions of the bargaining outcomes. We conclude that although the exchange model provides better predictions at the aggregate level (the collective outcome), the expected utility model generates superior predictions of the individual positions after bargaining.

Contains fulltext : 120643.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Closed access) The sudden and perhaps unexpected appearance of populist parties in the 1990s shows no sign of immediately vanishing. The lion’s share of the research on populism has focused on defining populism, on the causes for its rise and continued success, and more recently on its influence on government and on public policy. Less research has, however, been conducted on measuring populist attitudes among voters. In this article, we seek to fill this gap by measuring populist attitudes and to investigate whether these attitudes can be linked with party preferences. We distinguish three political attitudes: (1) populist attitudes, (2) pluralist attitudes, and (3) elitist attitudes. We devise a measurement of these attitudes and explore their validity by way of using a principal component analysis on a representative Dutch data set (N = 600). We indeed find three statistically separate scales of political attitudes. We further validated the scales by testing whether they are linked to party preferences and find that voters who score high on the populist scale have a significantly higher preference for the Dutch populist parties, the Party for Freedom, and the Socialist Party. 17 maart 2014 30 p.

Contains fulltext : 131872.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Closed access) Industrial relations theory has produced two conflicting hypotheses on the effects of multi-unionism on the incidence of industrial conflict. International comparative research proposes that unions organizing the same worker domains are prone to competition, for which industrial conflict is used as a means of propaganda. British economic research claims that unions organizing substitutable workers cooperate and act as one union. This study argues that apparent cooperation is not always voluntary action but is sometimes the result of a loss of autonomy caused by competition and a lack of mobilization power. Micro-level data on industrial action are used to test hypotheses of the conditions for such involuntary participation in labor disputes. 29 p.

Contains fulltext : 112182.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Closed access) Studies in public management show that agencies draw different types of support from different actors and organizations in their environment. If this is true, we would expect that managers differentiate their networking activity toward different types of external actors and organizations. However, empirical studies of the networking activities of managers do not reveal such a differentiation: these studies consistently report the existence of only one factor of managerial networking activity. The present article aims to solve this puzzle by disaggregating managerial networking into multiple scales of managerial networking activity, each related to a specific type of support from the agency’s environment. A cumulative scaling analysis of the network ties of Texas school district superintendents for the years 2002 and 2005 shows the existence of three such stable and homogeneous networking scales, respectively, providing (a) political support, (b) bureaucratic coping, and (c) coproduction. We compare these results with those of the method used in previous studies: factor analysis. We illustrate the potential of cumulative scaling for the analysis of managerial networking by comparing the effect of the managerial networking factor with those of the three networking scales on the pass rates of Latino students on the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications for our understanding of managerial networking. 22 p.

Contains fulltext : 121512.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Closed access) The purpose of this study is to gain insight into the relations between gender, networking behavior and network structure, in order to investigate the relevance of gender for organizational networks. Semi-structured interviews with 39 white, Dutch, women and men account managers were analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively. Our study's results show that the men account managers employ exchange and affect-based trust networking and, to a lesser extent, authoritative networking, whereas the women account managers employ affect-based trust and also use exchange. Authoritative networking appears to foster higher status ties, exchange networking behavior fosters lower status ties and affect-based trust networking fosters equal status ties. Gender differences in network structure may be explained by networking behavior rather than by gender. Our study is limited by the size of our group of respondents (n = 39). A larger sample is needed to test hypotheses concerning the relations between networking behavior, network structure and gender in a more rigorous manner than our study allowed. However, our research material enabled us to test these relations in a sound, be it preliminary way. Our study suggests to focus less on gender as a demographic bivariate category to explain gender differences in network structures and outcomes. In so doing, organizational network research will gain more insight into how gender expectations are negotiated in networking. In organizational practice, this will support organization members to employ the diversity of networking behaviors necessary to generate optimal network structures and outcomes. While most organizational network research focuses on network structures, we introduce the relational process of fostering network relations as central to women's and men's networking behavior. Networking behavior may have greater explanatory power for differences in network structure, than gender as a demographic, bivariate variable. 17 p.

Contains fulltext : 112155.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Closed access) Research on managerial networking in the public sector reports positive effects of network activity on performance. However, little is known about which network relations influence different aspects of performance. We argue that for specific organizational goals, organizations should direct their networking activities towards specific types of organizations. We explore how different types of network relations of Dutch colleges for nursing studies affect the performance of these colleges. We analyse the effect of ties with professional organizations on: (1) graduates’ program satisfaction, (2) graduates’ wages and (3) graduates’ employment (n = 1,484 graduates). Multilevel analyses show that colleges’ ties with professional organizations positively affect graduates’ wages and employment. 19 p.

Contains fulltext : 111927.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Closed access) In the public management literature, network effects are studied primarily at two levels: (a) the level of the interorganizational network as a whole and (b) the level of individual organizations’ networking behavior. This article combines the two levels within one theoretical framework and derives hypotheses about network effects on organizational performance for each level of analysis. The hypotheses are tested on a data set of five interorganizational networks in Dutch higher education. Within these five intercollege networks, we study graduates’ satisfaction with the educational program offered by 91 colleges for cohorts in the years 2002 to 2005 (n = 18,159). The results show that intercollege networks with clear patterns of coordination have significantly more satisfied graduates than networks of colleges characterized by either highly dense or sparse relations. For individual colleges, the results indicate that colleges’ participation in subnetworks positively affects graduate satisfaction, whereas colleges’ networking activity (the number of relationships with other colleges) does not affect graduate satisfaction. 11 november 2011

Contains fulltext : 111598.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Closed access) This study brings together two perspectives on managers’ reported levels of red tape. The work motivation perspective explains how managers’ characteristics, such as work engagement (alienation) or commitment, affect their reported levels of red tape. The external control perspective explains how managers’ feedback relations with external actors and organizations reduce miscommunications and conflicts between multiple sources of rules, regulations, and procedures. Hypotheses are derived about the effects of managers’ levels of work engagement, commitment to the organization, and networking activity with external actors and organizations on their levels of reported red tape. The hypotheses are simultaneously tested on a cross-sectional data set of Dutch primary school principals with information about their reported levels of externally generated general red tape (n = 792) and personnel red tape (n = 787). The results of the analyses suggest that work engagement reduces and commitment increases reported levels of red tape. Networking activity with national government is associated with high levels of reported general red tape and personnel red tape. Networking activity with local government and interest organizations in the labor relations domain are associated with low levels of reported personnel red tape. Finally, commitment moderates the effect of networking with national government on general red tape and the effect of networking with interest organizations on personnel red tape. These results are discussed with reference to the two perspectives on red tape. 29 februari 2012 27 p.

Contains fulltext : 95339.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Closed access) The literature on network management in the public sector reports positive effects of network activity on agency performance. Current studies show however no differences between specific types of contacts in an agency's environment. The present article adopts an explorative design to study the different types of environmental actors in the networks of nine colleges for nursing studies in the Netherlands. A typology of environmental ties is introduced, and applied to the nine cases. It appears that contacts to different types of actors reflect different levels of ambition in the network management of the colleges. The level of ambition in network management appears to be associated with two indicators for college performance: it is positively associated with diploma rate, and negatively associated with drop-out rates among freshmen. These results are discussed with reference to the current literature in public network management. 16 p.

Contains fulltext : 68903.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access) International comparative research has found that strike incidence is higher where two or more unions bargain with an employer (“multi-unionism”), as is common in most European countries, than where only one union does, all else equal. Two proposed explanations for this relationship, both invoking inter-union rivalry as the main dynamic, are that under multi-unionism, unions (a) make propagandistic use of strikes to attract members, or (b) compete with each other by bidding up bargaining demands. To date, the evidence bearing on these hypotheses has been equivocal because, the author argues, researchers have focused on activity at the national level rather than at the lower levels that are more commonly the nexus for strike formation. The author performs empirical tests using industry-sector-level data for seven European countries for the years 1990–2006, and finds evidence clearly favoring the competitive bargaining hypothesis over the propaganda hypothesis. 15 p.