Context, enactment and contribution of employee voice in the boardroom: evidence from large German companies

ISSN： 1477-9048

Source： International Journal of Business Governance and Ethics, Vol.6, Iss.2, 2011-05, pp. : 111-134

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Abstract

Corporate governance literature to date has tended to neglect employees and their impact, particularly at the level of company boards. Moreover, most research relating to boards has adopted a 'black box' approach and a distinctively quantitative methodology. Given these deficits, this paper aims to provide a comprehensive picture of employee voice in major German company boardrooms based on a qualitative analysis of interviews with directors from different board actor groups. It will be shown that board processes in the context of German parity codetermination are akin to political games, in which power structures, handling of information and consensus finding play a decisive role. Moreover, the importance of path dependency to understand and interpret those processes will be highlighted.