Intermediary cooperative associations and the institutionalization of participative work practices: A case study in the Danish public sector

Ole Henning Sørensen, Virginia Doellgast, Anders Bojesen

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    Abstract

    Scandinavian countries are known for having a high adoption of cooperative models of work design. This article investigates the role of parity labour market associations, termed intermediary cooperative associations, in the dissemination of these models. Findings are based on an examination of the Centre for the Development of Human Resources and Quality Management (SCKK), a social partnership-based organization that funds workplace development Projects at state workplaces, and of nine participative development projects that received financial and logistical support from the SCKK. These projects increased union and management commitment to partnership-based approaches to problem-solving, despite their ambiguous results for both groups. This suggests that intermediary cooperative associations help to enhance the normative legitimacy of participative work practices through the provision of resources and ‘best practice’ management approaches.
    Translated title of the contributionIntermediære samarbejdende organisationer og institutionalisering af participative arbejdspraksiser: : Et case studie i den offentlige sektor i Danmark
    Original languageEnglish
    JournalEconomic and Industrial Democracy
    Volume36
    Issue number4
    Pages (from-to)701-725
    Number of pages25
    ISSN0143-831X
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2015

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