Employment Relations as Networks: Methods and Theory

Traditional  approaches in the wide field of employment relations focused on a small  and clearly delineated set of actors, such as trade unions and  employers’ organizations, operating within the constraints given by  formal, nationally confined institutions. It is becoming increasingly  clear that traditional approaches are insufficiently able to account for  employment relations processes and outcomes in a world wherein formal  institutions are being rapidly transformed and partially dissolved,  national boundaries become porous, and the sheer number of actors  involved is increasing substantially. A shift in perspective is  necessary, past the nationally bounded actor-institution dichotomy,  towards an understanding of employment relations as fundamentally  mediated by complex and emergent networks that connect a multitude of  actors within and between countries.

This volume  provides a seminal starting point for such a paradigm shift by applying  theories and methodologies from social network analysis to the study of  employment relations. It develops a theoretical toolkit of mechanisms  that operate within networks and shape employment relations processes  and outcomes, such as wages, labour market policies and labour  conflicts. It brings together insights from various projects that  investigate the structure, functioning and impact of networks in  employment relations through quantitative and qualitative methods. It  will be of particular interest to students and scholars of employment  relations across business and management, economics, political science,  and sociology disciplines, as well as those interested in social  networks. Managers, trade unions, employers’ organizations and state  authorities at national and international levels will find it helpful in  understanding how networks shape their world.