TY - JOUR A1 - Hassel, Anke T1 - The Curse of Institutional Security: The Erosion of German Trade Unionism JF - Industrielle Beziehungen : Zeitschrift für Arbeit, Organisation und Management N2 - Among all EU member states, German unions have the widest gap between male and female trade union density rates and are least adjusted to the structural changes stemming from the rise of the service sector on the labour market. This development asks for a more subtle understanding of the role of industrial relations institutions for trade union membership. The paper addresses the phenomenon by locating the main problem areas of membership erosion, such as weak service sector membership and the ageing of membership in manufacturing trade unions. It argues that industrial relations institutions have a double effect. Industry unionism is on the one hand a key pillar for centralized bargaining and institutional stability. On the other hand, stable institutional structures might have contributed to the membership decline. KW - Trade union KW - Federal Republic of Germany KW - Development KW - Historical development KW - DGB KW - IG Metall KW - Theory of institutions KW - Service society KW - Corporatism KW - Degree of organization KW - Western Europe KW - Chemical and Energy Industrial Union KW - Structural change Y1 - 2007 UR - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-343914 N1 - Free online access: http://www.ssoar.info/ssoar/handle/document/34391 VL - 14 IS - 2 SP - 176 EP - 191 PB - Hampp-Verl. CY - Mering ER -