Evaluating Change in European Industrial Relations: Research Evidence on Trends at Organisational Level

As far back as 1960, Kerr et al. argued that there was a logic to industrialism which would lead to greater convergence, with, in particular, technological and economic forces bringing about greater similarities in industrial relations systems. This debate on the transformation of the industrial relations systems of different countries in response to the internationalisation of markets, technological innovations and increased workforce diversity has been the focus of much research in industrial relations in the last decade (Locke et al., 1995). In Europe in particular, according to Gunnigle and Roche (1995), the analysis of industrial relations practices and policies has never been so closely tied to an appreciation of commercial, national and international political pressures. The challenges to traditional or established industrial relations arise from such major forces as intensified international competition, changes to the structure of product and service markets, European integration and new approaches to the management of manufacturing technologies. However, the response to these pressures is not the same in every country. Rather, according to Locke et al., (1995, p. 158) employment relations ‘are shaped in systematic and predictable ways by institutions which filter these external pressures and the [decisions] of the key actors. Patterns of adjustment in countries that have a history of strong centralised industrial relations institutions tend to follow an incremental, negotiated pattern and aim to achieve results that balance the interests of different social groups and economic interests’.