Dissertation_Paula Aleksandrowicz_12 ... - Jacobs University

2.6. Pay-off of my Project
I regard my project as valuable because the reversal of the trend towards early exit is a
pressing issue in European countries. The trend needs to be analysed in its implications at
company level, as this is largely an under-researched ´black box´. Existing accounts of firm
behaviour towards older workers based on quantitative data leave many questions open, esp.
with regard to the impact of pension and labour market reform and demographic change and
the role of works councils in age management (see Köchling/Deimel 2006: 153 ff; Bellmann
et al. 2007: 5; Bellmann et al. 2006: 17).
Up to date, there have been few comparative analyses which addressed both the pull as
well as the push factors of retirement. With my study, I want to combine those two
approaches and analyse both the institutional and firm-level determinants of labour market
activity and retirement of older workers. My results may help to assess the employment and
retention chances of older workers and to develop adequate policy responses and incentives.
Moreover, representative surveys in Polish and German companies and German firm case
studies on age management have not yet studied the impact of recent legislative changes in
the field of old-age pensions and labour market policies. My study will continue the analysis
of welfare and work arrangements conducted by Naschold et al. (1994b) before the onset of
paradigmatic reforms in Germany, and broaden the view to several fields of personnel
policies within the firms.
Central and Eastern European Countries are under-researched in many respects. So far,
there has neither been conducted any comprehensive research on the policy of Polish firms
towards older workers, nor has Poland – with the exception of the ActivAge project (Perek-
Białas/Ruzik 2004a) and the European Foundation project (Rogut et al. 2007) – been
included in comparative analyses of this sort. One reason for this situation is that qualitative
surveys in Polish companies are still a rarity. My work shall therefore contribute to the
research of transformation countries.
Moreover, comparative research usually adopts a static perspective (Heidenreich 1991:
49). My research surpasses this boundary and regards personnel and externalisation policies
of firms against the framework of changing old-age pension legislation. German case
studies are conducted at two points, and the interview slots with managers and trade union
representatives in Polish companies were also set one year apart in time to take account of
the changes within the firm. With the longitudinal qualitative analysis, I will contribute to
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