Japanese firms often attempt to influence the process and outcomes of wage negotiation by sharing confidential business information with their unions and employees through the joint consultation system. In this study, using a unique survey of Japanese joint consultation committees conducted in 1981, the author examines the effects of information sharing on the process and outcomes of wage negotiation. The results show that when firms engaged in increased information sharing, negotiation processes were shorter and easier, and unions tended to demand and accept lower wage increases. In contrast, a similar study performed in the United States found that information sharing increased labor's bargaining power.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AbowdJohn M., and TracyJoseph S.. 1989. “Market Structure, Strike Activity, and Union Wage Settlements.”Industrial Relations, Vol. 28, No. 2 (Spring), pp. 227–50.
2.
AllenBeth. 1986. “The Demand for (Differentiated) Information.”Review of Economic Studies, Vol. 53, No. 2 (July), pp. 311–23.
3.
AokiMasahiko. 1988. Information, Incentives, and Bargaining in the Japanese Economy. New York: Cambridge University Press.
4.
BrownClair, and ReichMichael. 1989. “When Does Union-Management Cooperation Work? A Look at NUMMI and GM-Van Nuys.”California Management Review, Vol. 31, No. 4 (Summer), pp. 26–44.
5.
ClarkKim B.1984. “Unionization and Firm Performance: The Impact on Profits, Growth, and Productivity.”American Economic Review, Vol. 74, No. 5 (December), pp. 893–919.
6.
CousineauJean-Michel, and LacroixRobert. 1986. “Imperfect Information and Strikes: An Analysis of Canadian Experience, 1967–1982.”Industrial and Labor Relations Review, Vol. 39, No. 3 (April), pp. 377–87.
7.
CraftJames A.1981. “Information Disclosure and the Role of the Accountants in Collective Bargaining.”Accounting, Organization and Society, Vol. 6, No. 1, pp. 97–107.
8.
CraypoCharles. 1986. The Economics of Collective Bargaining. Washington, D.C.: Bureau of National Affairs.
9.
DelaneyJohn ThomasLewinDavid, and IchniowskyCasey. 1989. Human Resource Policies and Practices in American Firms. Washington, D.C.: Labor-Management Services Administration, U.S. Department of Labor.
10.
FreemanRichard B., and MedoffJames L.. 1981. “The Impact of Collective Bargaining: Illusion or Reality?” In StieberJackMcKersieRobert B., and MillsQuinn D., eds., U.S. Industrial Relations, 1950–1980: A Critical Assessment. Madison, Wis.: Industrial Relations Research Association, pp. 47–97.
11.
FreemanRichard B., and WeitzmanMartin L.. 1987. “Bonuses and Employment in Japan.”Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Vol. 1, No. 2 (June), pp. 168–94.
12.
GrammCynthia L.HendricksWallace E., and KahnLawrence M.. 1988. “Inflation Uncertainty and Strike Activity.”Industrial Relations, Vol. 27, No. 1 (Winter), pp. 114–29.
13.
HayesBeth. 1984. “Unions and Strikes with Asymmetric Information.”Journal of Labor Economics, Vol. 2, No. 1 (January), pp. 57–83.
14.
InagamiTakeshi. 1983. Labor-Management Communication at the Workshop Level. Tokyo: Japan Institute of Labour.
15.
KikuchiKozo. 1984. “The Japanese Enterprise Union and Its Functions.” In ShigeyoshiTokunaga and BergmannJoachim, eds., Industrial Relations in Transition: The Cases of Japan and the Federal Republic of Germany. Tokyo: University of Tokyo Press, pp. 171–96.
16.
KleinerMorris M., and BouillonMarvin L.. 1988. “Providing Business Information to Production Workers: Correlates of Compensation and Profitability.”Industrial and Labor Relations Review, Vol. 41, No. 4 (July), pp. 605–17.
17.
KochanThomas A., and KatzHarry C.. 1988. Collective Bargaining and Industrial Relations, 2nd Edition. Homewood, Ill.: Irwin.
18.
KoikeKazuo. 1988. Understanding Industrial Relations in Modern Japan. London: Macmillan.
19.
KoshiroKazutoshi. 1983. “Development of Collective Bargaining in Postwar Japan.” In ShiraiTaishiro, ed., Contemporary Industrial Relations in Japan. Madison, Wis.: University of Wisconsin Press, pp. 205–57.
20.
LewinDavid. 1984. Opening the Books: Corporate Information Sharing with Employees. New York: The Conference Board.
21.
Ministry of Labor. 1985. Roshi Komyunikeishon Chosa (Survey on Communication Between Labor and Management). Tokyo: Okurasho Insatsukyoku.
22.
MishelLawrence. 1986. “The Structural Determinants of Union Bargaining Power.”Industrial and Labor Relations Review, Vol. 40, No. 1 (October), pp. 90–104.
23.
MorishimaMotohiro. 1989. “Information Sharing and Firm Performance in Japan: Do Joint Consultation Committees Help?”Industrial Relations, forthcoming.
24.
MuramatsuKuramitsu. 1984. “The Effect of Trade Unions on Productivity in Japanese Manufacturing Firms.” In AokiMasahiko, ed., The Economic Analysis of the Japanese Firm. Amsterdam: North-Holland, pp. 103–23.
25.
NittaMichio. 1984. “Conflict Resolution in the Steel Industry—Collective Bargaining and Workers' Consultation in a Steel Plant.” In HanamiT. and BlanpainR., eds., Industrial Conflict Resolution in Market Economies. Antwerp: Kluwer Law & Taxation Publishers, pp. 233–47.
26.
ParkS. J.1984. “Labour-Management Consultation as a Japanese Type of Participation: An International Comparison.” In ShigeyoshiTokunaga and BergmannJoachim, eds., Industrial Relations in Transition: The Cases of Japan and the Federal Republic of Germany. Tokyo: University of Tokyo Press, pp. 153–67.
27.
SanoYoko. 1980. “A Quantitative Analysis of Factors Determining the Rate of Increase in Wage Levels During the Spring Wage Offensive.” In NishikawaShunsaku, ed. (Translated by MouerRoss), The Labor Market in Japan. Tokyo: Japan Foundation, pp. 216–35.
28.
ShimadaHaruo. 1982. “Perception and the Reality of Japanese Industrial Relations: Role in Japan's Postwar Success.”Keio Economic Studies, Vol. 19, No. 2, pp. 1–21.
29.
ShimadaHaruo. 1983. “Wage Determination and Information Sharing: An Alternative Approach to Incomes Policy?”Journal of Industrial Relations, Vol. 25, No. 2 (June), pp. 177–200.
30.
ShiraiTaishiro. 1983. “A Theory of Enterprise Unionism.” In ShiraiTaishiro, ed., Contemporary Industrial Relations in Japan. Madison, Wis.: University of Wisconsin Press, pp. 117–43.
31.
TairaKoji. 1988. “Productivity Assessment: Japanese Perceptions and Practices.” In CampbellJohn P.Richard J. Campbell, and Associates, eds., Productivity in Organizations. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, pp. 40–62.
32.
TracyJoseph S.1987. “An Empirical Test of an Asymmetric Information Model of Strikes.”Journal of Labor Economics, Vol. 5, No. 2 (April), pp. 149–73.
33.
WaltonRichard E., and McKersieRobert B.. 1965. A Behavioral Theory of Labor Negotiations. New York: McGraw-Hill.
34.
WilliamsonOliver E.1981. “The Modern Corporation: Origins, Evolution, Attributes.”Journal of Economic Literature, Vol. 19, No. 4 (December), pp. 1537–68.
