IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/ecoind/v43y2022i3p1420-1439.html

Institutions or resources and capabilities? Explaining engagement in European sectoral social dialogue

Author

Listed:
  • Thomas Prosser

    (Cardiff University, UK)

  • Barbara Bechter

    (Durham University, UK)

  • Manuela Galetto

    (University of Warwick, UK)

  • Sabrina Weber

    (Hochschule Pforzheim, Germany)

  • Bengt Larsson

    (Goteborgs universitet Samhallsvetenskapliga fakulteten, Sweden)

Abstract

In this article the authors analyse social partner engagement in European sectoral social dialogue, testing two prominent theories to disentangle sector and country dynamics: institutional and resources and capabilities theories. While institutional theory accounted for certain social partner preferences, resources and capability theory proved stronger in predicting participation and provided insight into regulatory preferences. The authors conclude that resources and capability theory better explains their case, associating it with weaknesses of transnational governance. Specifically, limited incentives for participation mean that social partners with fewer resources forego participation, entailing pre-eminence of social partners with greater resources and hindering outcomes reflecting national institutional influences.

Suggested Citation

  • Thomas Prosser & Barbara Bechter & Manuela Galetto & Sabrina Weber & Bengt Larsson, 2022. "Institutions or resources and capabilities? Explaining engagement in European sectoral social dialogue," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 43(3), pages 1420-1439, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ecoind:v:43:y:2022:i:3:p:1420-1439
    DOI: 10.1177/0143831X211016052
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0143831X211016052
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/0143831X211016052?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. Gregory Jackson & Tim Muellenborn, 2012. "Understanding the Role of Institutions in Industrial Relations: Perspectives from Classical Sociological Theory," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51, pages 472-500, April.
    2. Thelen,Kathleen, 2014. "Varieties of Liberalization and the New Politics of Social Solidarity," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781107679566, Enero-Abr.
    3. Thelen,Kathleen, 2014. "Varieties of Liberalization and the New Politics of Social Solidarity," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781107053168, Enero-Abr.
    4. Paul Marginson, 2005. "Industrial Relations at European Sector Level: The Weak Link?," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 26(4), pages 511-540, November.
    5. Christian Lévesque & Gregor Murray, 2010. "Understanding union power: resources and capabilities for renewing union capacity," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 16(3), pages 333-350, August.
    6. Thomas James Prosser & Emmanuelle Perin, 2015. "European tripartism: chimera or reality? The 'new phase' of the European social dialogue in the light of tripartite theory and practice," Business History, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 57(3), pages 376-397, April.
    7. 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.
    8. Wolfgang Streeck, 1994. "European Social Policy after Maastricht: The 'Social Dialogue' and 'Subsidiarily'," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 15(2), pages 151-177, May.
    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. Michael A. Witt & Gregory Jackson, 2016. "Varieties of Capitalism and institutional comparative advantage: A test and reinterpretation," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 47(7), pages 778-806, September.
    2. Egidio Riva & Roberto Rizza, 2021. "Who receives occupational welfare? The importance of skills across Europe’s diverse industrial relations regimes," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 27(1), pages 97-112, February.
    3. 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.
    4. Brigitte Granville & Jaume Martorell Cruz & Martha Prevezer, 2015. "Elites, Thickets and Institutions: French Resistance versus German Adaptation to Economic Change, 1945-2015," Working Papers 63, Queen Mary, University of London, School of Business and Management, Centre for Globalisation Research.
    5. Leone Leonida & Marianna Marra & Sergio Scicchitano & Antonio Giangreco & Marco Biagetti, 2020. "Estimating the Wage Premium to Supervision for Middle Managers in Different Contexts: Evidence from Germany and the UK," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 34(6), pages 1004-1026, December.
    6. German Feierherd & Patricio Larroulet & Wei Long, & Nora Lustig, 2021. "The Pink Tide and Inequality in Latin America," Working Papers 2105, Tulane University, Department of Economics.
    7. Anne Stevenot & Loris Guery & Geoffrey Wood & Chris Brewster, 2018. "Country of Origin Effects and New Financial Actors: Private Equity Investment and Work and Employment Practices of French Firms," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 56(4), pages 859-881, December.
    8. Donato Di Carlo, 2020. "Understanding wage restraint in the German public sector: does the pattern bargaining hypothesis really hold water?," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(3), pages 185-208, May.
    9. Elizabeth Balbachevsky & Helena Sampaio & Cibele Yahn de Andrade, 2019. "Expanding Access to Higher Education and Its (Limited) Consequences for Social Inclusion: The Brazilian Experience," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 7(1), pages 7-17.
    10. Snower, Dennis, 2025. "Labor Markets as Human Ecosystems: The Insider-Outsider Theory Reconsidered," INET Oxford Working Papers 2025-21, Institute for New Economic Thinking at the Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford.
    11. Tom VanHeuvelen & Kathy Copas, 2018. "The Intercohort Dynamics of Support for Redistribution in 54 Countries, 1985–2017," Societies, MDPI, vol. 8(3), pages 1-22, August.
    12. Mikkel Mailand, 2024. "Still part of the game—corporatism and political exchanges in two small states," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 63(3), pages 368-388, July.
    13. Simon Jäger & Shakked Noy & Benjamin Schoefer, 2022. "The German Model of Industrial Relations: Balancing Flexibility and Collective Action," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 36(4), pages 53-80, Fall.
    14. Oude Groeniger, Joost & Noordzij, Kjell & van der Waal, Jeroen & de Koster, Willem, 2021. "Dutch COVID-19 lockdown measures increased trust in government and trust in science: A difference-in-differences analysis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 275(C).
    15. Lehner, Lukas & Ramskogler, Paul & Riedl, Aleksandra, 2022. "Begging thy coworker – Labor market dualization and the slow-down of wage growth in Europe," INET Oxford Working Papers 2022-04, Institute for New Economic Thinking at the Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford.
    16. Hamidreza Rabiei‐Dastjerdi & Stephen A. Matthews, 2021. "Who gets what, where, and how much? Composite index of spatial inequality for small areas in Tehran," Regional Science Policy & Practice, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 13(1), pages 191-205, February.
    17. Werner Eichhorst & Gemma Scalise, 2026. "Revisiting dualism. The governance of the low pay-low skill labour market in four European countries," European Journal of Industrial Relations, , vol. 32(1), pages 3-23, March.
    18. Vrooman, J. Cok & Boelhouwer, Jeroen & Gijsberts, Mérove, 2023. "A contemporary class structure: Capital disparities in the Netherlands," SocArXiv zunqs, Center for Open Science.
    19. Chrisp, Joe & Garcia-Lazaro, Aida & Pearce, Nick, 2023. "Technological chance and growth regimes: Assessing the case for universal basic income in an era declining labour shares," FRIBIS Discussion Paper Series 01-2023, University of Freiburg, Freiburg Institute for Basic Income Studies (FRIBIS).
    20. Jordán, Felipe, 2025. "Varieties of capitalism and environmental performance," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 227(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    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:sae:ecoind:v:43:y:2022:i:3:p:1420-1439. 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: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.ekhist.uu.se/english.htm .

    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.