This book aims to analyze, advertise and criticize the contribution of industrial relations to social science understanding. It brings together leading scholars to reconsider the theoretical foundations of industrial relations and its potential contribution to the wider understanding of work and economic life, to learn what it can gain from a stronger engagement with these surrounding disciplines and national traditions.The introduction provides a critical, though broadly sympathetic outline of the development of the main stream industrial relations tradition. Part One recognizes the...

Discussing some fundamental theories and approaches to work and employment relations, and their connection to broader political and societal changes occurring throughout the world, this book contains a series of informedcontributions written by prominent leading scholars from across the globe in their respective fields.

There have been numerous accounts exploring the relationship between institutions and firm practices. However, much of this literature tends to be located into distinct theoretical-traditional 'silos', such as national business systems, social systems of production, regulation theory, or varieties of capitalism, with limited dialogue between different approaches to enhance understanding of institutional effects. Again, evaluations of the relationship between institutions and employment relations have tended to be of the broad-brushstroke nature, often founded on macro-data, and with only...

There have been numerous accounts exploring the relationship between institutions and firm practices. However, much of this literature tends to be located into distinct theoretical-traditional 'silos', such as national business systems, social systems of production, regulation theory, or varieties of capitalism, with limited dialogue between different approaches to enhance understanding of institutional effects. Again, evaluations of the relationship between institutions and employment relations have tended to be of the broad-brushstroke nature, often founded on macro-data, and with only...

Offering a critical assessment of the main conceptual debates concerning labour management partnership and cooperation at the workplace, this book evaluates the search for positive employment relations in five countries.