Direct involvement methods are often seen as heralding a new industrial relations in which employee voice is weaker than in systems based on unions or works councils. We test this argument through an empirical study across the European operations of 25 multinationals with headquarters in the UK and find that this is true only when direct voice is used in isolation. Such systems are not uncommon, but more often direct voice coexists with union and other representative channels. It is the variability in the relationship between three channels (direct, representative committee and union) that is significant. This confirms that institutions matter, but we conclude that the subject of industrial relations needs to focus more on the interplay between different voice mechanisms.
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