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Occupational Pension Schemes and their Relevance for the Employment Relationship in Germany. A Case Study Approach in the German Financial Services Sector

Due to employees’ reduced entitlements to the German statutory state pension on
the one hand, and the challenge to employers of a skilled worker shortage on the
other, employers’ contributions towards occupational pension schemes (OPS)
might be an effective human-resources management tool. Thus, the overarching
research question is: What is the relevance of OPS for the employment
relationship in Germany? Five sub-research questions address the role of OPS in
recruitment and retention management, organisational commitment, the potential
differences between women and men and between young and old employees and
the employees’ psychological contract. The empirical study is a single case study
in the financial-services sector.
Key findings: OPS are of more relevance for retaining employees than for
recruiting them. Their role differs significantly between employees with different
generations of the OPS and, therefore, different pension entitlements. Only minor
differences can be found between women and men and between younger and
older employees. Satisfaction with the occupational pension scheme has no
significant impact on organisational commitment. The majority of employees
perceived psychological contract fulfilment with respect to the OPS.
The contribution to theory is the closure of five research gaps. As far as is
known, this is the first study in Germany that analyses the role of OPS in a
specified context and from multifaceted viewpoints (recruitment/retention,
quantitative/qualitative, men/women, age groups).
The contribution to practice comprises the provision of a transferable analysis
blueprint of the role of OPS in the employment relationship and the provision of
recommendations that relate, among others, to communication and information
aspects, cost-benefit calculations and the usage of additional employer
contributions as a possible selective reward element.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:BRADFORD/oai:bradscholars.brad.ac.uk:10454/17180
Date January 2018
CreatorsLütke Kleimann, Mechthild
ContributorsProwse, Peter J., Smith, Andrew J.
PublisherUniversity of Bradford, Faculty of Management and Law
Source SetsBradford Scholars
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis, doctoral, DBA
Rights<a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" style="border-width:0" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc-nd/3.0/88x31.png" /></a><br />The University of Bradford theses are licenced under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Licence</a>.

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