project team, project video, project publications, Report: Congress Stockholm July 2005, project report  

Do we live within a “halved democracy”? Transnational economic interests increasingly determine the design of democracy within the European countries, regions, communities and organizations. Will there be opportunities for “freedom, equality and brotherhood/sisterhood” as a basis of each democratic system? Decision-making within the world of labour has an impact on welfare and societal solidarity. Thus, a sustainable development of society has to promote democratic attitudes at work.
The ODEM Research Team explores whether democratic principles of organizations on the level of the organization (including the socio-morall atmosphere), the work group, and the individual work task are interrelated to the readiness of employees and co-operative members to act democratic and socially responsible, e.g.
- to demonstrate social perspective-taking on a higher level
- to show egalitarian-humanist value orientations,
- to demonstrate democratic orientations,
- to show prosocial work behavior (not only in the management-oriented sense of OCB),
- or to demonstrate affective organizational commitment.

The theoretical framework of the project ODEM focuses on the socialization of democratic principles through working life. We are examining which fractals of democratic decision-making and social responsibility for the community exist in the practices of enterprises. And we ask what they contribute to the development of democracy in the process of European integration.

Research Methods: A variety of about 25 democratic and other socially oriented enterprises from the Euroregions Austria, Italy (Southern Tyrol, Trentino), and Southern Germany is included in the cross-sectional study. Research refers to different organizations in various economic fields: enterprises in the field of industrial production, trade and handcraft; social, cultural and interactive service work; information and communications technology and workers’ co-operatives. For the examination of the research questions several methods are combined: verified standardized questionnaires (yet about N=340 employees), expert interviews and problem-centred interviews with representatives of the enterprises and analysis of documents. A parallel investigation (on basis of the translated ODEM questionnaire) with smaller sample size is performed in Israel (within kibbutz factories and other firms) under leadership of Michal Palgi.

Co-operation Partners:
• International Institute for Research on Cooperatives in the Alp Region (IGA), Austria
• The Institute for Research of the Kibbutz and the Cooperative Idea, Israel
(Prof. Dr. Michal Palgi, Chair of Gender Studies, Emek Yezreel College, and President of the RC10 Participation, Organizational Democracy and Self-Management of the ISA)
• Dr. Paul Oehlke, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V., Bonn, Germany
(Political Scientist, Programm Innovative Arbeitsgestaltung und Zukunft der Arbeit)

Start of the Project: 03-2004
End of the Project: 03-2006

Netzwerk für sozial verantwortliche Wirtschaft

International Sociological Association - Research Committee 10 on Participation, Organizational Democracy & Self-Management

ILO - International Labour Organization

ILO - International Labour Organization, Vertretung in Deutschland

Netz für Selbstverwaltung und Selbstorganisation

Arbeitsgemeinschaft sozialpolitischer Arbeitskreise

Theoriearbeitskreis Alternative Ökonomie

European Foundation Centre - Thematic Funders Network

Monatszeitung für Selbstverwaltung und Alternative Ökonomie

Alternative Ökonomie im Kanton Basel



project team, project video, project publications, Report: Congress Stockholm July 2005, project report