The research team of Professor Su Zhongxing from School of Labor and Human Resource, Renmin University of China (RUC) published the research results on the positive effects of the democratic management system of Chinese enterprises at the global stage.

The results were officially published on Human Resource Management Journal, a leading journal in the field of human resource management and labor relations, entitled “What does democratic management do in Chinese workplaces? Evidence from matched employer–employee data” in April 2023. Professor Su Zhongxing of LHR is the corresponding author of the paper, alumnus Assistant Professor Chen Liwen is the first author, and alumnus Assistant Professor Wang Guanghua is the co-author.

Abstract: Democratic management (DM) is an important set of statutory employee participation institutions that goes beyond trade unions in Chinese workplaces; however, its effects on pay and performance are unstudied. Using data from the China Employer–Employee Matched Survey, this study examines how DM is associated with pay and performance levels in China. The study finds that DM is positively associated with workers’ hourly wages, fringe benefits, and firms’ labour productivity on average, suggesting that it is not merely ‘window-dressing’ as perceived by conventional wisdom. This study also reveals that workplace transparency mediates the relationship between DM and employees’ earnings, while the industrial relations climate mediates the relationship between DM and firms’ productivity.

For more details, please refer to https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1748-8583.12471.