Job security and productivity at Eroski Group

Abstract

Based on an econometric case study of the Eroski Group, the objective of this study is to examine the relationship between job security and organizational productivity. Eroski organizes its operations in three different legal structures (Cooperative, GESPA, Conventional firm). Type of contract, is our proxy for job security. We draw on a sample of 433 supermarkets and 73 hypermarkets, whose legal/organizational characteristics and other data offer a unique opportunity to analyze different legal structures and levels of job security within the same business group and the same human resources practices. Results show that job security is positively related to productivity. It is not clear if Eroski co-op workermembers are more productive than partial employee-owners or non-owner employees with long-term contracts in Eroski’s conventional subsidiaries, though the data do indicate that Eroski cooperatives are more productive than its other legal structures.