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AbstractWe examine the association between management practices and SME performance in Britain over the period 2011–2015, using a unique dataset which links survey data on management practices with firm performance data from the UK's official business register. We find that SMEs are less likely to use formal management practices than larger firms. However, such practices appear to have demonstrable benefits for those SMEs who use them, being positively associated with firm survival, growth and productivity. Our results add further weight to policy initiatives which seek to encourage SMEs to improve their management skills and capabilities.

Cet article retrace le déclin de la représentation des salariés en Grande-Bretagne depuis 1980. En 1980, on dénombrait environ 328 000 délégués syndicaux sur les lieux de travail. En 2004, ils étaient plus que moitié moins. Ce déclin s'est produit parce que, en même temps que les syndicats peinaient à recruter des shop stewards , leurs adhérents rechignaient de plus en plus à assumer un rôle de représentants, démoralisés qu'ils étaient par des défaites, les licenciements et l'intensification des rythmes de travail. Les données disponibles suggèrent que le rôle des shop stewards qui restent s'est considérablement restreint : en effet, le nombre de sujets soumis à négociation s'est réduit, la mobilisation des adhérents autour de revendications collectives et de conflits a décru, et les shop stewards consacrent de plus en plus de temps à la représentation individuelle des travailleurs confrontés à des problèmes ou à des griefs.

The decline in trade union influence over the past two decades raises the question of whether pay levels in lower-skilled jobs now lie outside the unions' sphere of influence, as tacitly acknowledged by their acceptance and later endorsement of the principle of the statutory minimum wage. This article examines pay levels among lower-skilled jobs in the private sector in Britain using the Workplace Employee Relations Survey of 1998. It shows that trade unions still had a positive impact upon pay levels in lower-skilled jobs and identifies those forms of unionism associated with the largest premiums. However, the article also shows that the activities of trade unions did little to counteract the forces generating the lowest levels of pay.

This article uses linked employer–employee data to investigate the relationship between employees' subjective well-being and workplace performance in Britain. The analyses show a clear, positive and statistically significant relationship between the average level of job satisfaction at the workplace and workplace performance. The relationship is present in both cross-sectional and panel analyses and is robust to various estimation methods and model specifications. In contrast, we find no association between levels of job-related affect and workplace performance. Ours is the first study of its kind for Britain to use nationally representative data and it provides novel findings regarding the importance of worker job satisfaction in explaining workplace performance. The findings suggest that there is a prima facie case for employers to maintain and raise levels of job satisfaction among their employees. They also indicate that initiatives to raise aggregate job satisfaction should feature in policy discussions around how to improve levels of productivity and growth.

Estimates of the performance pay (PP) premium using household survey data are upwardly biased due to the use of PP contracts in higher paying workplaces. Using nationally representative linked employer‐employee data we estimate the PP premium at the mean and across the wage distribution, after accounting for workplace heterogeneity. We then present the effects of PP on the wage distribution. Failure to account for the use of PP in high paying workplaces overstates the PP premium by one‐third. The premium rises as one moves up the wage distribution, but the effect is more modest after having accounted for workplace heterogeneity.

Across Europe, there are many differing opinions on whether workplace employee representation should be encouraged or discouraged. Yet there is very little evidence on the variations in workplace employee representation across Europe or the reasons for this. We use a workplace survey covering 27 EU countries to show that its incidence is strongly and independently correlated with the degree of centralization in a country's industrial relations regime and the extent of legislative support. Industry rents are also important in explaining trade union presence, but are unimportant in the case of works councils. Turning to the effects of workplace employee representation, we find support for the exit-voice model – traditionally associated with Anglo-Saxon regimes – whereby worker representation is associated with poorer perceptions of the employment relations climate and with lower voluntary quit rates.