Cozy or Tense? Rethinking Employee Voice Within Enterprise Unionism in Japan
This study examines why labor unions in Japan typically preserve their negotiation powers within the enterprise unionism framework, despite criticism of potentially fostering collusive labor-management relations and weak external oversight. By conducting a qualitative analysis from extensive intervi...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | Japanese |
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The Academic Association for Organizational Science
2025-08-01
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| Series: | AAOS Transactions |
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| Online Access: | https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/aaostrans/13/4/13_2025-001/_pdf/-char/ja |
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| author | Ryohei Nakagawa |
| author_facet | Ryohei Nakagawa |
| author_sort | Ryohei Nakagawa |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This study examines why labor unions in Japan typically preserve their negotiation powers within the enterprise unionism framework, despite criticism of potentially fostering collusive labor-management relations and weak external oversight. By conducting a qualitative analysis from extensive interview data, this research investigates the modifications in the unions’ two types of voices throughout the reform period around 2000, when employees were exposed to the increased risk of being put at a disadvantage during business downturns. This study aimed to elucidate the strategies employed by labor unions to effectively utilize both engagement voice （EV） and negotiation voice （NV） inextricably, thereby offering an explanation for the persistence of enterprise unionism without compromising the adequate tension of labor-management relations. It provided a novel theoretical contribution by examining the strengths and limitations of enterprise-based unions’ voice behaviors in Japan. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-958bcf2d771f4939b49b3afb48652e7a |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2758-2795 |
| language | Japanese |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
| publisher | The Academic Association for Organizational Science |
| record_format | Article |
| series | AAOS Transactions |
| spelling | doaj-art-958bcf2d771f4939b49b3afb48652e7a2025-08-20T03:06:50ZjpnThe Academic Association for Organizational ScienceAAOS Transactions2758-27952025-08-01134117https://doi.org/10.11207/aaostrans.2025-001Cozy or Tense? Rethinking Employee Voice Within Enterprise Unionism in JapanRyohei Nakagawa0Faculty of Global Management, the University of NaganoThis study examines why labor unions in Japan typically preserve their negotiation powers within the enterprise unionism framework, despite criticism of potentially fostering collusive labor-management relations and weak external oversight. By conducting a qualitative analysis from extensive interview data, this research investigates the modifications in the unions’ two types of voices throughout the reform period around 2000, when employees were exposed to the increased risk of being put at a disadvantage during business downturns. This study aimed to elucidate the strategies employed by labor unions to effectively utilize both engagement voice （EV） and negotiation voice （NV） inextricably, thereby offering an explanation for the persistence of enterprise unionism without compromising the adequate tension of labor-management relations. It provided a novel theoretical contribution by examining the strengths and limitations of enterprise-based unions’ voice behaviors in Japan.https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/aaostrans/13/4/13_2025-001/_pdf/-char/jaemployee voicelabor unionengagementnegotiationenterprise unionism |
| spellingShingle | Ryohei Nakagawa Cozy or Tense? Rethinking Employee Voice Within Enterprise Unionism in Japan AAOS Transactions employee voice labor union engagement negotiation enterprise unionism |
| title | Cozy or Tense? Rethinking Employee Voice Within Enterprise Unionism in Japan |
| title_full | Cozy or Tense? Rethinking Employee Voice Within Enterprise Unionism in Japan |
| title_fullStr | Cozy or Tense? Rethinking Employee Voice Within Enterprise Unionism in Japan |
| title_full_unstemmed | Cozy or Tense? Rethinking Employee Voice Within Enterprise Unionism in Japan |
| title_short | Cozy or Tense? Rethinking Employee Voice Within Enterprise Unionism in Japan |
| title_sort | cozy or tense rethinking employee voice within enterprise unionism in japan |
| topic | employee voice labor union engagement negotiation enterprise unionism |
| url | https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/aaostrans/13/4/13_2025-001/_pdf/-char/ja |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT ryoheinakagawa cozyortenserethinkingemployeevoicewithinenterpriseunionisminjapan |