Productivity Puzzles - should employee participation be an issue?

In this paper we review econometric efforts aiming to identify whether employee participation adds to productivity growth. The overall picture is mixed. Participation may lead to significant but not substantial higher productivity. The theoretical predictions, pointing to the importance of institutional setting and a need to establish quality cooperation and long-term commitment from both management and workers, seem to be supported by the empirical results. An emerging hypothesis is that both the intensity of involvement and a combination of involvement, economic rewards and participation in decisions significantly influence productivity.