Conditions for the development of employee representation in corporate governance in European countries

Abstract

Background: Employee representation in corporate governance bodies already has an established position in European countries. It refers to the two-tier model of governance, with the supervisory board and management board rather than the one-tier model with a board of directors. The development of such representation is influenced by the EU authorities implementing long-term processes to harmonize solutions in member states. Such representation has also been developed in the Nordic countries under the influence of democratization processes. However, in several countries, the processes of limiting such representation can be observed, and this is related to the political conditions (the strengthening of right-wing parties) and a difficult economic situation caused by the 2008 financial crisis.
 Research purpose: The purpose of the study is to identify factors that affect changes in the scope of such representation, as well as to determine their effectiveness based on selected case studies.
 Methods: In order to achieve the research objective, a critical analysis of the subject literature and appropriate legal regulations was used. The analysis covered, among others, texts published in renowned journals concerning industrial relations (European Journal of Industrial Relations, Industrial Relations Journal), while problems from the legal perspective (Journal of Comparative Law Study) were also analyzed.
 Conclusion: It can generally be stated that conditions in recent decades have fostered the development or strengthening of employee representation in corporate governance bodies. The attempts to harmonize employee representation in governance made by the EU authorities should be assessed positively, although their formal results are relatively modest and are limited primarily to the European Company Statute. Positive changes can also be observed in the Nordic countries, where the existing conditions, including primarily the democratization processes, forced the modification of the one-tier model by creating the possibility of including employee representation on the board of directors. At the same time, pressure can be observed in many countries to limit or eliminate employee representation in governance.