The impact of job quality and pay on the exit-voice behavior of French employees across different unionized settings

In the Hirschman’s theory, the concepts of quality of product and the price of product have a central place. This theory states that individuals who are not satisfied with the quality of product are more likely to voice. In contrast, individuals who are more concerned with the price of product are more likely to exit. Insofar, most of the research papers using Hirschman’s exit-voice theoretical model in the labor market tried to explain the phenomenon of turnover in relation to job satisfaction or job tenure. However, they did not stress the attention on testing the effect of exit-voice strategies in relation to job quality. The communication is grounded on a study whose aim is to explain why individuals choose either to leave the firm (exit), or to stay and express their dissatisfaction (voice). It follows a longitudinal perspective to predict the exit/voice strategies of individuals for a middle stretch of time in the labor market system in France. Hirschman’s assumptions about quality and price will be employed in order to examine under which conditions French employees working in firms are more likely to exit, and under which conditions they are more likely to voice. Moreover, it discusses the traditional view of unionism as a form of collective voice and focuses on the situation in France.  For the purpose of analysis, the current paper uses French REPONSE surveys which provide information about the occupation of employees, their history of salaries, the main motivation of individuals of participating in collective action, and the perceived role of unions. The relevance of studying job quality and pay in relation to the exit/voice strategies across different unionized settings are strongly supported by the first findings.