The management of an ageing workforce: organisational policies in<scp>G</scp>ermany and<scp>B</scp>ritain

Abstract

Demographic change as well as pressure from the E uropean U nion and national government are forcing organisations to change age‐discriminatory HRM approaches. Based on a qualitative analysis of eight B ritish and G erman organisations, we found that commitment, scope, coverage and implementation of age management differ due to country‐specific institutions, particularly government, in nudging employers and unions to preferred age practices. This confirms the path dependency concept suggested by institutional theory. Nevertheless, we also found that industry‐specific factors mediate the implementation of age management, leading to some convergence across countries. This indicates that organisations deviate from the institutional path to implement practices that they deem important.