We report the first results for Japanese firms on the effects of clusters of participatory employment practices (or participation/employee involvement at the top level as well as at the grassroots level, and financial participation) by estimating production functions using new panel data. We find that the introduction of a group of complementary practices will lead to a significant 8–9 percent increase in productivity. However, the full productivity effect is felt only after a long developmental period.

The contributors to this special issue provide unique perspectives and insights about the future of human resource management, and many of their ideas present opportunities for future research. Our intent is to focus on identifying and briefly discussing the key needs and directions suggested by these articles. The discussion is organized around four general themes: the HR function and its impact, the roles of HR professionals, the value of HR competencies, and the HR implications of globalization. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

North American firms have begun to show greater interest in sharing private business information with unions and employees, a labor relations practice widely institutionalized in Japan. This study uses a survey of Japanese joint consultation committees and publicly available business data to examine the effects of information sharing on a firm's profitability, productivity, and labor cost. The results generally show a positive association of information sharing with profitability and productivity and a negative association with labor cost.

Managing conflicts between employees and supervisors is a critical issue in maintaining productive labor‐management relations. This study uses the theory of cooperation and competition to specify the nature of the relationship and the flexible strategies that facilitate mutually beneficial solutions to employee complaints. Results based on interviews of supervisors and union employees in a remote site in British Columbia support the hypotheses that cooperative, compared to competitive and independent, goals promote open‐minded discussions of complaints that result in efficient resolutions which benefit both supervisors and employees. Results suggested that developing cooperative goals and open‐minded negotiation skills can help supervisors and employees to create integrative solutions to shopfloor conflicts.

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Japanese firms often attempt to influence the process and outcomes of wage negotiation by sharing confidential business information with their unions and employees through the joint consultation system. In this study, using a unique survey of Japanese joint consultation committees conducted in 1981, the author examines the effects of information sharing on the process and outcomes of wage negotiation. The results show that when firms engaged in increased information sharing, negotiation processes were shorter and easier, and unions tended to demand and accept lower wage increases. In contrast, a similar study performed in the United States found that information sharing increased labor's bargaining power.

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