IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/indrel/v56y2025i3p214-225.html

Frames of Reference: Dynamics of Change and Frame Misalignment Between Employers and Unions

Author

Listed:
  • Andrea Signoretti
  • Adrian Wilkinson

Abstract

Industrial relations studies have struggled to explain the variations in human resource (HR) practices in firms operating in the same institutional contexts and sectors and facing similar market pressures. Budd, Pohler, and Huang's (2021) model on the frames of reference used by managers and employees constitutes a notable exception, as it focuses on how actors view HR practices. We build on this model and critique and extend it by including unions as actors and exploring employers' and unions' frames concerning HR practices and the ensuing outcomes. We also develop an analytical framework composed of workplace‐level relational and beyond‐workplace external elements. We invite future research to show the empirical validity of our model and framework.

Suggested Citation

  • Andrea Signoretti & Adrian Wilkinson, 2025. "Frames of Reference: Dynamics of Change and Frame Misalignment Between Employers and Unions," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 56(3), pages 214-225, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:indrel:v:56:y:2025:i:3:p:214-225
    DOI: 10.1111/irj.12460
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/irj.12460
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/irj.12460?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Glenn Morgan & Marco Hauptmeier, 2021. "The Social Organization of Ideas in Employment Relations," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 74(3), pages 773-797, May.
    2. Gabriella Cioce & Ian Clark & James Hunter, 2022. "How does informalisation encourage or inhibit collective action by migrant workers? A comparative analysis of logistics warehouses in Italy and hand car washes in Britain," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(2), pages 126-141, March.
    3. Andy Hodder & Mark Williams & John Kelly & Nick McCarthy, 2017. "Does Strike Action Stimulate Trade Union Membership Growth?," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 55(1), pages 165-186, March.
    4. Julia Brandl, 2022. "Frames of reference in managing employment from the perspective of economics of conventions," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(3), pages 290-302, July.
    5. John‐Paul Ferguson, 2022. "Introduction: Frames and framing in human relations and industrial relations research," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(3), pages 259-267, July.
    6. Susan Ainsworth & Angela Knox, 2022. "“A bridge too far?” Ideas, employment relations and policy‐making about the future of work," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(1), pages 68-89, January.
    7. Valeria Pulignano & Andrea Signoretti, 2016. "Union Strategies, National Institutions and the Use of Temporary Labour in Italian and US Plants," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 54(3), pages 574-596, September.
    8. Martin B. Carstensen & Christian Lyhne Ibsen & Vivien A. Schmidt, 2022. "Ideas and power in employment relations studies," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(1), pages 3-21, January.
    9. Maite Tapia & Gabriella Alberti, 2019. "Unpacking the Category of Migrant Workers in Trade Union Research: A Multi-Level Approach to Migrant Intersectionalities," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 33(2), pages 314-325, April.
    10. Tamara L. Lee & Maite Tapia, 2021. "Confronting Race and Other Social Identity Erasures: The Case for Critical Industrial Relations Theory," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 74(3), pages 637-662, May.
    11. Mark Anner & Matthew Fischer-Daly & Michael Maffie, 2021. "Fissured Employment and Network Bargaining: Emerging Employment Relations Dynamics in a Contingent World of Work," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 74(3), pages 689-714, May.
    12. Bjarke Refslund & Jens Arnholtz, 2022. "Power resource theory revisited: The perils and promises for understanding contemporary labour politics," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 43(4), pages 1958-1979, November.
    13. John Geary & Aurora Trif, 2011. "Workplace Partnership and the Balance of Advantage: A Critical Case Analysis," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 49(Supplemen), pages 44-69, June.
    14. Lorenzo Frangi & Tingting Zhang & Robert Hebdon, 2020. "Tweeting and Retweeting for Fight for $15: Unions as Dinosaur Opinion Leaders?," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 58(2), pages 301-335, June.
    15. Virginia Doellgast & Matthew Bidwell & Alexander J. S. Colvin, 2021. "New Directions in Employment Relations Theory: Understanding Fragmentation, Identity, and Legitimacy," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 74(3), pages 555-579, May.
    16. Jacques Bélanger & Paul Edwards, 2007. "The Conditions Promoting Compromise in the Workplace," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 45(4), pages 713-734, December.
    17. Karl E. Weick & Kathleen M. Sutcliffe & David Obstfeld, 2005. "Organizing and the Process of Sensemaking," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 16(4), pages 409-421, August.
    18. Christine A. Riordan & Alexander M. Kowalski, 2021. "From Bread and Roses to #MeToo: Multiplicity, Distance, and the Changing Dynamics of Conflict in IR Theory," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 74(3), pages 580-606, May.
    19. David Beale & Stephen Mustchin, 2014. "The bitter recent history of employee involvement at Royal Mail: An aggressive management agenda versus resilient workplace unionism," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 35(2), pages 289-308, May.
    20. Colm McLaughlin & Chris F. Wright, 2018. "The Role of Ideas in Understanding Industrial Relations Policy Change in Liberal Market Economies," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 57(4), pages 568-610, October.
    21. Adrian Wilkinson & Geoffrey Wood, 2012. "Institutions and Employment Relations: The State of the Art," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51, pages 373-388, April.
    22. Tony Dundon & Tony Dobbins, 2015. "Militant partnership: a radical pluralist analysis of workforce dialectics," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 29(6), pages 912-931, December.
    23. Pauline Stanton & Timothy Bartram & Greg J. Bamber, 2022. "The role of nurses' unions in workplace innovation in Australian and Canadian hospitals: Analysing union strategies," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(5), pages 484-500, September.
    24. Sarah Kaplan, 2008. "Framing Contests: Strategy Making Under Uncertainty," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 19(5), pages 729-752, October.
    25. Peter Gahan & Andreas Pekarek, 2013. "Social Movement Theory, Collective Action Frames and Union Theory: A Critique and Extension," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 51(4), pages 754-776, December.
    26. Dionne Pohler & Andrew Luchak, 2015. "Are Unions Good or Bad for Organizations? The Moderating Role of Management's Response," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 53(3), pages 423-459, September.
    27. Andrea Signoretti, 2019. "Explaining variation in the social performance of lean production: a comparative case study of the role played by workplace unions' framing of the system and institutions," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(2), pages 126-149, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Martin B. Carstensen & Christian Lyhne Ibsen & Vivien A. Schmidt, 2022. "Ideas and power in employment relations studies," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(1), pages 3-21, January.
    2. Paulo Marzionna, 2023. "Is this workplace bullying? How ideas about conflict shape conflict management strategies," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 61(2), pages 366-391, June.
    3. John W. Budd & Dionne Pohler & Wei Huang, 2022. "Making sense of (mis)matched frames of reference: A dynamic cognitive theory of (in)stability in HR practices," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(3), pages 268-289, July.
    4. Duanyi Yang & Tingting Zhang, 2025. "Voice without Representation: Worker Voice in China’s Networked Public Sphere," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 78(5), pages 754-779, October.
    5. Virginia Doellgast & Matthew Bidwell & Alexander J. S. Colvin, 2021. "New Directions in Employment Relations Theory: Understanding Fragmentation, Identity, and Legitimacy," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 74(3), pages 555-579, May.
    6. Bjarke Refslund, 2025. "Theorizing collective action—Instrumental collectivism as a key concept for explaining workplace collective action," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 64(2), pages 229-245, April.
    7. Andrew DA Smith & Kevin D Tennent, 2025. "The employee representation plan movement in the United States 1913–1935: The attempted legitimation of novel organizational forms," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 46(4), pages 1135-1163, November.
    8. John Geary & Andrea Signoretti, 2022. "The role of socio-economic embeddedness in promoting cooperation in the workplace: Evidence from family-owned Italian firms," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 43(4), pages 1867-1890, November.
    9. Nana Wesley Hansen & Mark Friis Hau, 2024. "Between Settlement and Mobilization: Political Logics of Intra-Organizational Union Communication on Social Media," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 38(2), pages 299-317, April.
    10. Julie M É Garneau & Sara Pérez-Lauzon & Christian Lévesque, 2023. "Digitalisation of work in aerospace manufacturing: expanding union frames and repertoires of action in Belgium, Canada and Denmark," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 29(1), pages 139-154, February.
    11. Søren Kaj Andersen & Chris F. Wright, 2025. "Vertical New Knowledge Transfer and the Revival of Multi‐Employer Collective Bargaining," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 56(4), pages 279-290, July.
    12. Valeria Pulignano & Lorenzo Frangi & Yennef Vereycken & Lynford Dor & Rutherford Tod & Lander Vermeerbergen, 2026. "Trade Union Power and the Quality of Working Life Under Industry 4.0: Bargaining Outcomes in Truck and Car Components Plants," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 64(1), pages 168-181, March.
    13. Stefan Gröschl & Patricia Gabaldón & Tobias Hahn, 2019. "The Co-evolution of Leaders’ Cognitive Complexity and Corporate Sustainability: The Case of the CEO of Puma," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 155(3), pages 741-762, March.
    14. Lorenzo Frangi & Muhammad Umar Boodoo & Robert Hebdon, 2022. "Demobilised or dormant? Exploring pro-strike attitudes among employees who have never joined a strike," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 43(3), pages 1236-1259, August.
    15. Gino Cattani & Daniel Sands & Joe Porac & Jason Greenberg, 2018. "Competitive Sensemaking in Value Creation and Capture," Strategy Science, INFORMS, vol. 3(4), pages 632-657, December.
    16. Caleb Goods & Alex Veen & Tom Barratt & Brett Smith, 2024. "Power resources for disempowered workers? Re‐conceptualizing the power and potential of consumers in app‐based food delivery," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 63(2), pages 107-131, April.
    17. Paul Edwards & Andy Hodder, 2022. "Conflict and control in the contemporary workplace: Structured antagonism revisited," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(3), pages 220-240, May.
    18. Heather Connolly & Élodie Béthoux & Rémi Bourguignon & Arnaud Mias & Paul Tainturier & Pauline de Becdelièvre, 2025. "Neoliberalism by stealth? Labour reforms and institutional discontinuity in worker representation in France," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 46(2), pages 546-567, May.
    19. Andrea Borello, 2025. "Structural Unfairness or Disrespect and Misrecognition? Theorising the Pathway Between Feelings of Injustice and Collective Mobilisation Among Precarious Migrant Workers," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 63(3), pages 413-426, September.
    20. Belinda Wade & Andrew Griffiths, 2022. "Exploring the Cognitive Foundations of Managerial (Climate) Change Decisions," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 181(1), pages 15-40, November.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:indrel:v:56:y:2025:i:3:p:214-225. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0019-8692 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.