Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-75dct Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-01T02:51:35.634Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Improving social dialogue: What employers expect from employee representatives

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2023

Erica Romero Pender ,
Patricia Elgoibar ,
Lourdes Munduate ,
Ana Belén García  and
Martin C Euwema
Erica Romero Pender
Affiliation:
University of Seville, Spain; KU Leuven, Belgium
Patricia Elgoibar*
Affiliation:
University of Barcelona, Spain
Lourdes Munduate
Affiliation:
University of Seville, Spain
Ana Belén García
Affiliation:
University of Seville; KU Leuven, Belgium
Martin C Euwema
Affiliation:
KU Leuven, Belgium
*
Patricia Elgoibar, Department of Business, University of Barcelona, Av. Diagonal 690, Barcelona 08034, Spain. Email: patriciaelgoibar@ub.edu
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The model of social dialogue within organisations between management and employees is facing unprecedented challenges, and changing rapidly. In this new context of labour relations, experiences and expectations of each other are key drivers for the primary parties to this social dialogue. There has been little systematic research investigating the conditions for constructive social dialogue, particularly when it comes to ‘soft factors’, such as perceived competences, trust, influence and conflict behaviours. Addressing these issues based on theories of conflict, trust and influence, this article investigates experiences and expectations of employee representatives on the part of human resource managers, their counterparts in social dialogue. The results of surveys conducted in 11 European countries indicate that, overall, employers found a model of structured dialogue with elected employee representatives useful. Furthermore, competences of employee representatives, cooperative conflict behaviours, informal relations and trust promoted the influence of employee representatives on organisational decision-making and the quality of these decisions. We discuss implications for different systems of industrial relations.

Keywords

J50Collective conflictemployee representativesmanagementsocial dialogue
Type
Industrial Relations Alternatives
Information
The Economic and Labour Relations Review , Volume 29 , Issue 2: Symposium: Wage Theft and Minimum Labour Standards Enforcement Part 2 , June 2018 , pp. 169 - 189
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2017

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aaldering, H, Ten Velden, FS (2016) How representatives with a dovish constituency reach higher individual and joint outcomes in integrative negotiations. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations. Epub ahead of print 26 July. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1368430216656470.Google Scholar
Amason, AC, Thompson, KR, Hochwarter, WA, et al (1996) Conflict: an important dimension in successful management teams. Organizational Dynamics 24(2): 20–35.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baccaro, L, Howell, C (2011) A common neoliberal trajectory: the transformation of industrial relations in advanced capitalism. Politics & Society 39(4): 521–563.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barnard, C (2014) EU employment law and the European social model: the past, the present and the future. Current Legal Problems 67: 199–237.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bartram, D, Roe, RA (2008) Individual and organisational factors in competence acquisition. In: Nijhoff, WJ, Simons, RJ, Nieuwenhuis, AF (eds) The Learning Potential of the Workplace. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers, pp. 71–96.Google Scholar
Bosch, G (2015) Shrinking collective bargaining coverage, increasing income inequality: a comparison of five EU countries. International Labour Review 154(1): 57–68.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carley, M, Marginson, P (2010a) The crisis: challenges and social partner perspectives. In: European Commission (ed.) Industrial Relations in Europe 2010. Brussels: European Commission, pp. 55–82.Google Scholar
Carley, M, Marginson, P (2010b) Negotiating the crisis: social partners responses. In: European Commission (ed.) Industrial Relations in Europe 2010. Brussels: European Commission, pp. 109–166.Google Scholar
Carnevale, PJ, Pruitt, DG (1992) Negotiation and mediation. Annual Review of Psychology 43: 531–582.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Conchon, A (2011) Board-level employee representation rights in Europe: Facts and trends. Report 121. Brussels: European Trade Union Institute (ETUI).Google Scholar
Curtarelli, M, Fric, K, Vargas, O, et al (2014) Job quality, industrial relations and the crisis in Europe. International Review of Sociology 24(2): 225–240.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cutcher-Gershenfeld, J, Kochan, T (2004) Taking stock: collective bargaining at the turn of the century. Industrial and Labor Relations Review 58(1): 3–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Davis, JH, Schoorman, FD, Mayer, RC, et al . (2000) The trusted general manager and business unit performance: empirical evidence of a competitive advantage. Strategic Management Journal 21(5): 563–576.3.0.CO;2-0>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
De Dreu, CKW, Weingart, LR (2003) Task versus relationship conflict, team performance, and team member satisfaction: a meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology 88(4): 741–749.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
De Dreu, CKW, Evers, A, Beersma, B, et al (2001) A theory-based measure of conflict management strategies in the workplace. Journal of Organizational Behavior 22(6): 645–668.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
De Wit, FRC, Greer, LL, Jehn, KA (2012) The paradox of intragroup conflict: a meta analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology 97(2): 360–390.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Deutsch, M (1973) The Resolution of Conflict. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Dunlop, J (1993) Industrial Relations Systems. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.Google Scholar
Edwards, P (2009) Industrial Relations: Theory and Practice. Malden, MA: John Wiley & Sons.Google Scholar
Eisenhardt, KM (1989) Agency theory: an assessment and review. Academy of Management Review 14(1): 57–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Elgoibar, P (2013) Worker representatives’ conflict behavior in Europe with a focus on Spain. PhD Thesis, University of Leuven, Belgium and University of Seville, Spain.Google Scholar
Elgoibar, P, Munduate, L, Medina, FJ, et al . (2012) Why are industrial relations in Spain competitive? Trust in management, union support and conflict behavior in worker representatives. International Journal of Organizations. Special issue: Industrial Relations in Europe 9: 145–168.Google Scholar
Elgoibar, P, Euwema, M, Munduate, L (2016) Building Trust and Constructive Conflict Management in Organizations. Dordrecht: Springer.Google Scholar
Elgoibar, P, Munduate, L, Medina, F, et al (2014) Do women accommodate more than men? Gender differences in perceived social support and negotiation behaviour by Spanish and Dutch worker representatives. Sex Roles 70(11–12): 538–553.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
European Commission (2015) Industrial Relations in Europe 2014. Brussels: Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion.Google Scholar
Euwema, M, Elgoibar, P (2012) Empowering employee representatives: we can make the difference here. In: Munduate, L, Euwema, M, Elgoibar, P (eds) Ten Steps for Empowering Employee Representatives in the New European Industrial Relations. Madrid: McGraw-Hill, pp. 96–104.Google Scholar
Euwema, M, Van Emmerik, IJH (2007) Intercultural competencies and conglomerated conflict behaviour in intercultural conflicts. International Journal of Intercultural Relations 31(4): 427–441.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Euwema, M, Munduate, L, Elgoibar, P, et al (2015) Promoting Social Dialogue in European Organizations: Human Resources Management and Constructive Conflict Behavior. Dordrecht: Springer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fairbrother, P (2015) Rethinking trade unionism: union renewal as transition. Economic and Labour Relations Review 26(4): 561–576.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fells, R, Prowse, P (2016) Negotiations in the workplace: overcoming the problem of asymmetry. In: Elgoibar, P, Euwema, M, Munduate, L (eds) Building Trust and Constructive Conflict Management in Organizations. Dordrecht: Springer, pp. 75–92.Google Scholar
Frege, C, Kelly, JE (2004) Varieties of Unionism: Strategies for Union Revitalization in a Globalizing Economy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
French, JRP, Raven, BH (1959) The bases of social power. In: Cartwright, D (ed.) Studies in Social Power. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, pp. 150–167.Google Scholar
Garcia, A, Pender, E, Elgoibar, P, et al . (2015) The tower of power: building innovative organizations through social dialogue. In: Euwema, M, Munduate, L, Elgoibar, P, et al . (eds) Promoting Social Dialogue in European Organizations. Human Resources Management and Constructive Conflict Behavior. The Netherlands: Springer International.Google Scholar
Garcia, A, Munduate, L, Elgoibar, P, et al (2017) Competent or competitive? How employee representatives gain influence in organizational decision-making. Negotiation and Conflict Management Research 10(2): 107–125.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gilliland, SW, Gross, MA, Hogler, RL (2014) Is Organizational Justice the New Industrial Relations? A Debate on Individual Versus Collective Underpinnings of Justice. Negotiation and Conflict Management Research 7: 155–172.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Glassner, V, Keune, M, Marginson, P (2011) Collective bargaining in a time of crisis: developments in the private sector in Europe. Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research 17(3): 303–322.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gold, M, Kluge, N, Conchon, A (eds) (2010) ‘In the Union and on the Board’: Experiences of Board-level Employee Representatives across Europe. Brussels: European Trade Union Institute (ETUI).Google Scholar
Gross, MA, Guerrero, LK, Alberts, JK (2004) Perceptions of conflict strategies and communication competence in task oriented dyads. Journal of Applied Communication Research 32(3): 249–270.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guest, DE (2016) Trust and the role of the psychological contract in contemporary employment relations. In: Elgoibar, P, Euwema, M, Munduate, L (eds) Trust Building and Constructive Conflict Management in Organizations. Dordrecht: Springer International Publishing, pp. 137–150.Google Scholar
Hayter, S (2015) Introduction: what future for industrial relations? International Labour Review 154(1): 1–4.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hyman, R (2015) Three scenarios for industrial relations in Europe. International Labour Review 154(1): 5–14.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
International Labour Organization (ILO) (2005) Social Dialogue: Finding a Common Voice. (Social Dialogue Sector). Geneva: International Labor Office.Google Scholar
Janssen, O, Van de Vliert, E, Veenstra, C (1999) How task and person conflict shape the role of positive interdependence in management teams. Journal of Management 25(2): 117–141.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jehn, KA (1995) A multimethod examination of the benefits and detriments of intragroup conflict. Administrative Science Quarterly 40(2): 256–282.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kelly, J (2015) Trade union membership and power in comparative perspective. Economic and Labour Relations Review 26(4): 526–544.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Keune, M (2015) Shaping the future of industrial relations in the EU: ideas, paradoxes and drivers of change. International Labour Review 154(1): 47–56.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Koukiadaki, A, Tavora, I, Martínez-Lucio, M (2016) Continuity and change in joint regulation in Europe: structural reforms and collective bargaining in manufacturing. European Journal in Industrial Relations 22(3): 189–203.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lax, D, Sebenius, J (1992) The manager as negotiator: the negotiator’s dilemma. In: Goldberg, S, Sander, F, Rogers, N (eds) Creating and Claiming Value, in Dispute Resolution. 2nd ed. Boston, MA: Little Brown and Co, pp. 49–62.Google Scholar
Levin, DZ, Whitener, EM, Cross, R (2006) Perceived trustworthiness of knowledge sources: the moderating impact of relationship length. Journal of Applied Psychology 91(5): 1163–1171.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lewicki, R, Elgoibar, P, Euwema, M (2016) The tree of trust: building and repairing trust in organizations. In: Elgoibar, P, Euwema, M, Munduate, L (eds) Building Trust and Constructive Conflict Management in Organizations. The Netherlands: Springer International.Google Scholar
Lipsky, DB, Seeber, RL, Avgar, AC (2015) From the negotiating arena to conflict management. Negotiation Journal 31(4): 405–413.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marginson, P (2015) Coordinated bargaining in Europe: from incremental corrosion to frontal assault? European Journal of Industrial Relations 21(2): 97–114.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marginson, P, Sisson, K (2004) European Integration and Industrial Relations: Multi-Level Governance in the Making. Hampshire and New York: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Martínez-Lucio, M (2016) Myths and fantasies in discussing the end of organized labour: what do we mean when we say there is a crisis of labour relations? In: Elgoibar, P, Euwema, M, Munduate, L (eds) Building Trust and Constructive Conflict Management in Organizations. Dordrecht: Springer, pp. 15–27.Google Scholar
Martínez-Lucio, M, Weston, S (2007) Preparing the ground for a Social Europe? European WCs and European Regulatory Identity. In: Whittall, M, Knudsen, H, Huijgen, F (eds) Towards a European Labor Identity. London: Routledge, pp. 182–197.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mayer, RC, Davis, JH (1999) The effect of the performance appraisal system on trust for management: a field quasi-experiment. Journal of Applied Psychology 84(1): 123–136.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mayer, RC, Davis, JH, Schoorman, FD (1995) An integrative model of organizational trust. Academy of Management Review 20(3): 709–734.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Medina, JF, Munduate, L, Guerra, JM (2008) Power and conflict in cooperative and competitive contexts. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology 17(3): 349–362.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Molina, O, Miguelez, F (2013) From negotiation to imposition: social dialogue in austerity times in Spain. Governance and Tripartism Department Working Paper 51, International Labor Office, Geneva, September.Google Scholar
Munduate, L, Medina, FJ (2017) How does power affect those who have it and those who don’t? Power inside organizations. In: Chmiel, N, Fraccaroli, F, Selke, M (eds) An Introduction to Work and Organizational Psychology: An International Perspective. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, pp. 176–191.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Munduate, L, Euwema, M, Elgoibar, P (2012) Ten Steps for Empowering Employee Representatives in the New European Industrial Relations. Madrid: McGraw-Hill.Google Scholar
Munduate, L, Ganaza, J, Peiro, JM, et al (1999) Patterns of styles in conflict management and effectiveness. International Journal of Conflict Management 10(1): 5–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Olson, BJ, Parayitam, S, Bao, Y (2007) Strategic decision making: the effects of cognitive diversity, conflict, and trust on decision outcomes. Journal of Management 33(2): 196–222.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pruitt, DG (2013) Negotiation Behavior. New York: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Pruitt, DJ, Carnevale, PJ (1993) Negotiation in Social Conflict. University of Michigan: Brooks/Cole Publishing Company.Google Scholar
Pulignano, V, Martinez-Lucio, M, Whittall, M (2012) Systems of representation in Europe: variety around a social model. In: Munduate, L, Euwema, MC, Elgoibar, P (eds) Ten Steps for Empowering Employee Representatives in the New European Industrial Relations. Madrid: McGraw-Hill, pp. 1–6.Google Scholar
Rocha, RS (2010) Shop stewards as coordinators of employee-driven innovation: implications for TUs. Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research 16(2): 185–196.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sebenius, JK (2015) Why a behavioral theory of labour negotiations remains a triumph at fifty but the labels ‘distributive’ and ‘integrative’ should be retired. Negotiation Journal 31(4): 335–347.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sen, R, Lee, C (2015) Workers and social movements of the developing world: time to rethink the scope of industrial relations? International Labour Review 154(1): 37–46.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Simms, B (2012) Towards a mighty union: how to create a democratic European superpower. International Affairs 88(1): 49–62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Soares, AR, Passos, AM (2012) Step 7. Critical Competencies for an Innovative Union. In: Munduate, L, Euwema, M, Elgoibar, P (eds) Ten Steps for Empowering Employee Representatives in the New European Industrial Relations. Madrid: McGraw-Hill, pp. 66–77.Google Scholar
Stuart, M, Lucio, MM (2002) Social partnership and the mutual gains organization: remaking involvement and trust at the British workforce. Economic and Industrial Democracy 23(2): 177–200.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Summers, J, Hyman, J (2005) Employee Participation and Company Performance: A Review of the Literature. York: Joseph Rowntree Foundation.Google Scholar
Teichmann, M, Lõhmus, M (2014) Employee representatives in Estonia: how are they perceived and what are the expectations by employers in Estonia? In: Euwema, MC, Munduate, L, Elgoibar, P, et al (eds) Promoting Social Dialogue in European Organizations: Human Resources Management and Constructive Conflict Behavior. Dordrecht: Springer, pp. 87–95.Google Scholar
Thyssen, M (2016) Preface. In: Elgoibar, P, Euwema, M, Munduate, L (eds) Building Trust and Constructive Conflict Management in Organizations. Dordrecht: Springer, pp. 5-7.Google Scholar
Turnbull, P (2010) From social conflict to social dialogue: counter-mobilization on the European waterfront. European Journal of Industrial Relations 16(4): 333–349.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van der Brempt, O (2014) Opening the Black Box of Work Councils’ Effectiveness: The Role of Group Composition, Trust and Perceived Influence. PhD Thesis, Universiteit Antwerpen, Belgium.Google Scholar
Van de Vliert, E, Euwema, M, Huismans, SE (1995) Managing conflict with a subordinate or a superior: effectiveness of conglomerated behaviour. Journal of Applied Psychology 80(2): 271–281.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van de Vliert, E, Nauta, A, Euwema, M, et al (1997) The effectiveness of mixing problem solving and forcing. In: De Dreu, C, Van de Vliert, E (eds) Using Conflict in Organizations. London: SAGE, pp. 38–52.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Visser, J (2010) The Institutional Characteristics of Tus, Wage Settings, State Intervention and Social Pacts. Amsterdam: Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Labor Studies.Google Scholar
Vos, KJ (2006) Europeanization and convergence in industrial relations. European Journal of Industrial Relations 12(3): 311–327.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Watson, DH (1988) Managers of Discontent. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Welz, C, Vargas, O, Broughton, A, et al (2014) Impact of the Crisis on Industrial Relations and Working Conditions in Europe. Dublin: European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions.Google Scholar
Wilkinson, A, Gollan, PJ, Marchington, M, et al (2010) Conceptualizing employee participation in organizations. In: Wilkinson, A, Gollan, PJ, Marchington, M, et al (eds) The Oxford Handbook of Participation in Organizations. New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 3–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar