Opening the black box of works council–management team interaction: Germany and the Netherlands compared
通过问卷调查劳资委员会成员，构建了一个捕捉劳资委员会与管理团队互动本质的构念，发现合作、权力、沟通、目标共享和信任等行为显著影响双方关系，且该构念是解释劳资委员会对公司决策影响的最重要因素。
Researchers still struggle with unravelling the internal interaction processes between management and employees (and their representatives). In empirical studies explaining the effects of works councils, the multidimensional nature of the works council–management team relationship is therefore largely ignored. By utilising a unique questionnaire among works councillors, this article examines the (potential) inner workings of this black box, by developing a construct aimed to capture the essence of these forms of social interaction. The authors find that behavioural aspects of cooperation, power, communication, goal sharing and trust significantly affect the relationship between works council and management. The authors also test their construct via a model that seeks to explain the influence of works councils on company decision-making. Their results indicate that despite a few noticeable cross-country differences, their black box construct is the most important factor in explaining this influence both in Germany and the Netherlands, revealing that a good relationship with management is imperative.