Atribución 4.0 InternacionalDoucet Sánchez, Pablo FranciscoRequejo, IgnacioSuárez González, Isabel2024-09-032024-09-032024Doucet, P., Requejo, I., & Suárez-González, I. (2024). Business groups’ internal labour markets and SME labour productivity. Small Business Economics, 62(2), 707-725. https://doi.org/10.1007/S11187-023-00780-40921-898Xhttps://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-023-00780-4https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14468/23602The registered version of this article, first published in “Small Business Economics, 62(2), 707-725", is available online at the publisher's website: Springer, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-023-00780-4La versión registrada de este artículo, publicado por primera vez en “Small Business Economics, 62(2), 707-725", está disponible en línea en el sitio web del editor: Springer, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-023-00780-4Labour market regulation constrains small and medium-sized enterprises’ (SMEs) ability to minimize redundant labour. However, it is often neglected that many SMEs might circumvent these constraints by accessing a business group’s internal labour market (ILM). In this study, we analyse whether SMEs with ILM access—i.e., with an increasing number of sister group companies in the same subnational region-industry—enjoy a labour productivity premium and whether this potential productivity premium depends on the bargaining power of labour. Because intra-group reallocation of redundant personnel often involves substantial changes in employment conditions, we argue that the value of ILM access might be reduced when the bargaining power of workers is high as they can oppose the reallocation or demand significant compensation. Using a panel of 119,801 European SMEs during 2011–2019 (639,675 firm-year observations), we find that SMEs with ILM access show relatively higher labour productivity. Further, our findings suggest that this productivity premium is higher in those contexts associated with lower labour bargaining power.eninfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess53 Ciencias Económicas::5311 Organización y dirección de empresasartículo