Abstracts
Abstract
Recent research within employment relations has identified how employer collective organizations continue to thrive in countries featuring different institutional characteristics. In the UK, we identify 447 membership-based Employer Organizations (EOs) active within employment relations and human resource management. The volume of organizations identified prompts our research question: what explains the changing role and activities of UK EOs?
Country-level studies of EOs continuation use a range of theoretical frameworks to analyze how these organizations have adapted to institutional and economic change, but the most effective mode of analysis is debated. Our contribution is to apply Schmitter and Streeck’s identification of logics driving the behaviour of employer collective organizations, previously applied to coordinated market economies as defined by the Varieties of Capitalism framework, to the UK’s liberal market economy. The article explores the extent to which liberalization prompted new behaviour within UK EOs.
Some studies argue that EOs in coordinated market economies adapt by prioritizing logics driving influence over those linked to membership. We explore how the UK’s changing political economy spurred evolution in the application of logics and find that the opposite happened. EOs once used participation within collective bargaining agreements and the governance of tripartite bodies to prioritize the logic of influence but these institutions decayed. It might have been expected that such decay would have caused a withering of EOs but they reconstituted themselves instead. The declining salience of the logic of influence prompted employer bodies to focus to a greater degree on the logic of membership by offering a broader range of member-focused services. Our findings indicate that employer collective bodies can react to liberalization with adaptation, not extinction. We also argue that our methodology could shed light on EOs behaviour in North America.
Keywords:
- employer organizations,
- collective action,
- employer interest representation,
- employment relations,
- United Kingdom
Résumé
De récentes recherches menées en relations de travail ont montré que les organisations collectives d’employeurs continuent leurs activités dans divers pays présentant des caractéristiques institutionnelles différentes. Au Royaume-Uni, nous avons recensé 447 organisations d’employeurs (OE) actives dans les domaines des relations de travail et de la gestion des ressources humaines. Ce grand nombre d’organisations a inspiré notre question de recherche: Qu’est-ce qui explique l’évolution du rôle et des activités des OE du Royaume-Uni?
Les études menées au niveau national sur le rôle des OE ont eu recours à une gamme de cadres théoriques pour analyser la manière dont ces organisations se sont adaptées dans le temps aux changements institutionnels et économiques, mais, le mode d’analyse le plus efficace fait toujours l’objet de débats. Dans cet article, notre contribution consiste à appliquer, à l’économie de marché libérale du Royaume-Uni, le cadre de Schmitter et Streeck qui identifie les logiques sous-jacentes régissant le comportement des OE, cela en utilisant le même cadre appliqué aux économies de marché coordonnées, telles que définies dans le cadre des études sur les « variétés du capitalisme ». L’article regarde dans quelle mesure la libéralisation a provoqué un nouveau comportement au sein des OE.
Certaines études ont soutenu que, dans les économies de marché coordonnées, les OE vont s’adapter en accordant la priorité aux logiques liées au membership. Nous explorons comment l’évolution de l’économie politique britannique a entraîné une évolution dans l’application des logiques d’adaptation des OE et constatons que c’est plutôt l’inverse qui s’est produit. Par le passé, les OE privilégiaient plutôt une logique d’influence faisant appel à la participation des membres dans le cadre des négociations collectives face aux syndicats ainsi que pour oeuvrer au sein d’organismes institutionnels tripartites, mais ces institutions se sont effondrées. On aurait pu s’attendre à ce que cette dégradation se traduise par le dépérissement des OE, mais elles se sont plutôt réorganisées. La diminution de l’importance de la logique d’influence a incité les organismes d’employeurs à se concentrer davantage sur la logique du membership en proposant une gamme plus large de services destinés aux membres. Nos résultats indiquent que les OE peuvent réagir à la libéralisation par une adaptation, cela afin d’éviter l’extinction. Enfin, nous croyons que notre méthodologie pourrait servir à éclairer le comportement des OE en Amérique du Nord.
Mots-clés:
- organisations d’employeurs,
- action collective,
- représentation des intérêts des employeurs,
- relations de travail,
- Royaume-Uni
Resumen
Investigaciones recientes dentro del campo de las relaciones laborales han identificado cómo las organizaciones colectivas de empleadores continúan prosperando en países con características institucionales diferentes. En el Reino Unido identificamos 447 organizaciones de empleadores (OE) basadas en la membresía que son activas en el campo de las relaciones de empleo y en el de la gestión de recursos humanos. El volumen de organizaciones identificadas incita nuestra pregunta de investigación: ¿Qué es lo explica el cambio de rol y de actividades de las OE del Reino Unido?
Los estudios a nivel de país sobre la continuación de las OE utilizan una serie de marcos teóricos para analizar cómo estas organizaciones se han adaptado al cambio institucional y económico, pero se debate el modo de análisis más eficaz. Nuestra contribución consiste en utilizar la identificación de Schmitter y Streeck de las lógicas que conducen el comportamiento de las organizaciones colectivas de empleadores, previamente aplicadas a las economías de mercado coordinadas y definidas según el enfoque de Variedades del Capitalismo, para aplicarla a la economía liberal de mercado del Reino Unido. El artículo explora en qué medida la liberalización provocó un nuevo comportamiento dentro de las OE del Reino Unido.
Algunos estudios sostienen que las OE en las economías de mercado coordinadas se adaptan dando prioridad a las lógicas que conducen a la influencia en detrimento de aquellas vinculadas a la membrecía. Exploramos como la cambiante economía política del Reino Unido estimuló la evolución en la aplicación de las lógicas y descubrimos que sucedió lo contrario. Las OE utilizaron antes la participación en los acuerdos de negociación colectiva y la gobernanza de los organismos tripartitos para priorizar la lógica de la influencia, pero estas instituciones decayeron. Se podría haber esperado que tal decaimiento hubiera provocado un debilitamiento de las OE, pero en su lugar se reconstituyeron. La importancia decreciente de la lógica de influencia llevó a los organismos de los empleadores a centrarse en mayor medida en la lógica de membrecía al ofrecer una gama más amplia de servicios centrados en los miembros. Nuestros resultados indican que los organismos colectivos de empleadores pueden reaccionar a la liberalización con la adaptación, no con la extinción. También argumentamos que nuestra metodología podría ser utilizada para esclarecer el comportamiento de las OE en América del Norte.
Palabras claves:
- Organizaciones de empleadores,
- acción colectiva,
- representación de intereses del empleador,
- relaciones de empleo,
- Reino Unido
Appendices
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