"The Researcher proposes to investigate the determinants of individuals’ career advancement in the current organizational landscape in the US and in Europe. Specifically, the Researcher will investigate how recently adopted participatory work systems, which decentralize decision making to lower level jobs, have transformed the traditional bureaucratic model of career advancement in organizations. The proposed project has three main research objectives. First, the Researcher will present an analysis of how participatory work systems, characterized by high employee involvement practices such as self-managing teams and employee suggestion systems, affect the opportunities for career advancement in organizations in the US. Theoretical arguments for why these new work systems change opportunities for career advancement will be advanced and tested. Second, the Researcher will expand the research to the European context. The impact of participatory work systems on individuals’ careers in different countries will be investigated and compared. The role of the institutional context in explaining the differences found will be investigated. Existing datasets will be used for these analyses. Finally, the Researcher will investigate how the adoption of high participatory systems affects the career dynamics of individuals at one organization. The Researcher will collect a unique dataset and will present an econometric case study. The proposed project will benefit the European community in several ways. It will contribute to enhance EU scientific excellence by producing high-impact scientific publications and by establishing collaboration with Professors at other prestigious institutions in the US. It will also benefit the Community by developing an under explored research field in Europe that will have important implications for productivity and employment outcomes."