Contemporary Employers’ Organizations

This book argues that employers’ organizations are resilient organizations that adapt to changing circumstances by developing new practices. Adaptation has been prompted by changing economic and social contexts, including state interventions and union activities. Contexts vary over time, across countries and world regions. The purpose of the book is to explore these variations and their impacts on employer organization.

The book covers the following themes across four book sections: theoretical perspectives on employer collective action; employers’ organizations in different types of capitalism; different types of employers’ organizations; and international and comparative employer interest representation. Theoretical explorations examining employer power, political preferences, meta-organizing, and ideological foundations are complemented by studies of employers’ organization in China, Denmark, Australia, Germany, Turkey, Canada, and the UK. Different types such as regional and international employers’ organizations are also examined. The book is one of the few edited volumes to examine employer collective action within work and employment, and is the first since 1984 to consider western and non-western contexts.

The book will be of interest to employment relations and sociology of work researchers, scholars, advanced students, and practitioners as it brings new perspectives to an understudied actor in employment relations: employers’ organizations.