Financial participation and institutional change in Greece, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the UK

Abstract

This chapter investigates the institutional embeddedness of employee financial participation (EFP: employee share ownership, stock options and profit-sharing). The research base is a mixed methods study covering an analysis of a longitudinal dataset using the international database of the Cranet HRM network, and in-depth country profile studies of selected countries -including our longstanding partner of Cranet-network Greece- discovering the institutional complementarities between industrial relations and employee financial participation. The results show that the introduction and developments of EFP are not only determined by the influence of institutions. Also, the actors who shape these institutions, most notably employers, trade unions and government bodies, differ profoundly between national systems in their attitude and behaviour towards EFP, between promoting, being sceptical, and no opinion and involvement at all.