NEW ARTICLE from our former DIPA-team member, Dr. Bilal Hassan in the Economic and Industrial Democracy. Hassan investigates whether workplace democracy drives democratic legitimacy in Europe. Findings show, among other things, that at the employee level, the relationship between workplace democracy and democratic legitimacy is non-significant unless mediated by political interests and job satisfaction.
It is believed that workplace democracy reduces employee turnover, improves organizational commitment and citizenship behavior, and increases overall job satisfaction. In light of the literature suggesting considerable discrepancy in democratic legitimacy, this article aims to examine if workplace democracy drives democratic legitimacy. The author examines the political spillover and stealth democracy hypotheses as complementary mechanisms to account for any relationship between workplace democracy and democratic legitimacy in Europe from micro (employee-level) and macro (country-level) perspectives.
The study contributes to our understanding how workplace democracy can enhance democratic legitimacy, which is a central theoretical and practical issue confronting even highly developed polities in Western Europe. The article is open access and can be found here.