The management of an ageing workforce: organisational policies in Germany and Britain

Schröder, Heike; Muller-Camen, Michael; Flynn, Matthew

Abstract

Demographic change as well as pressure from the European Union and national government are forcing organisations to change age‐discriminatory HRM approaches. Based on a qualitative analysis of eight British and German organisations, we found that commitment, scope, coverage and implementation of age management differ due to country‐specific institutions, particularly government, in nudging employers and unions to preferred age practices. This confirms the path dependency concept suggested by institutional theory. Nevertheless, we also found that industry‐specific factors mediate the implementation of age management, leading to some convergence across countries. This indicates that organisations deviate from the institutional path to implement practices that they deem important.

Citation

Schröder, H., Muller-Camen, M., & Flynn, M. (2014). The management of an ageing workforce: organisational policies in Germany and Britain. Human resource management journal, 24(4), 394-409. https://doi.org/10.1111/1748-8583.12043

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Online Publication Date: Jun 25, 2014
• Publication Date: 2014-11
• Deposit Date: May 15, 2019
• Journal: Human Resource Management Journal
• Print ISSN: 0954-5395
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 24
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 394-409
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/1748-8583.12043
• Keywords: Age management; Firm level; Britain; Germany; Case study; Qualitative research
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/1788186
• Publisher URL: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1748-8583.12043