The Role of Union Legitimacy and Identity in Shaping Strategic Choice

Spanish unions have pursued various strategies in their attempt to revitalize. Political action has been of particular importance, but collective bargaining and cooperation between the two major union confederations have also been significant factors. We argue that the broader political context and historical legacies are crucial in explaining unions' strategic choices. In particular, we look at the tensions between the unions' institutional role in industrial relations and a fragmented civil society and labour market. Further, the search for a new union identity needs to be understood in the context of the interests of employers. While the unions have been innovative in devising new strategies, the measures of success are still inconclusive.

Industrial relations (IR) scholars emphasize the strategic choices of industrial relations actors to explain IR processes and outcomes. This article asserts that union member satisfaction is critical to realize unions’ objectives and that the local union and work context shapes satisfaction. The authors study the 2019 national UAW strike against General Motors in two, at first sight, very similar union locals. Union members of one local approved the agreement while the other local rejected the agreement. Through quantitative and qualitative analysis, the authors explain the different outcomes. Their analysis of a unique worker survey conducted during the strike shows that general member satisfaction was an important dimension for supporting the union’s strategic choices. Qualitative case studies of the two locals highlight the importance of shares of transfer workers—“invisible divides”—when examining member satisfaction. Broadly, findings contribute to the strategic choice literature and emphasize the local union context as a key locus for producing successful outcomes.

A range of literature has attempted to reconceptualize union agendas for firm-level restructuring by identifying variety in local union strategic responses. This article explores the conditions under which local unions respond strategically to company restructuring in the Netherlands, Italy and Ireland. Two distinct types of union strategies are identified: confrontation based on ‘job protection’; cooperation based on ‘job transition’. Evidence suggests that different combinations of structural and socio-political firm-level conditions encourage the choice of specific union strategy. Understanding the nature and the interactions between firm-level contextual factors, within a broader institutional setting during restructuring, is important to provide a fuller explanation for the variety of strategic choices facing local unions.

This article investigates whether differences in trade union identity can explain local and national variations in union strategy. To do so, it compares the divergent responses of unions to healthcare privatisation initiatives across six cases in England and France. It brings together the often disparate literatures on union identity, strategy and mobilisation and presents a new conceptual model to explicate these differences by linking a union’s identity to union strategy via two core framing processes: diagnostic framing and prognostic framing. Findings reveal that unions respond differently to healthcare privatisation initiatives, irrespective of the local and national context. Union identity influenced how they framed the threats and opportunities around them, shaping their expectations in terms of effective action. Union identity not only explains divergent responses but is also responsible for path dependencies which would make it potentially more difficult for unions to overcome structural constraints and learn from other groups.

Three field studies conducted with academics and students examined the dynamic role of threat and normative support for a union in qualifying the relationship between union‐related legitimacy and efficacy beliefs, and union intentions. There was evidence for interplay between threat and norms in facilitating people acting in accordance with their union beliefs, and in providing the conditions where those with weaker beliefs may be mobilised. In Study 1, students' perception of threat to group interests facilitated their preparedness to act on pro‐union legitimacy and efficacy beliefs. In Study 2, among academics who perceived low threat, acting on union legitimacy and efficacy beliefs was contingent on a pro‐union norm, while those who perceived high threat were prepared to act on their union legitimacy beliefs regardless of the normative environment. Finally, in Study 3, a pro‐union norm again facilitated acting on union beliefs in a low threat condition and overcame the importance of legitimacy and efficacy beliefs in a high threat condition. In sum, this research makes a case for the importance of union strategies attending to both the framing of intergroup threat and the communication of in‐group normative support for the union.

In this article, we draw international comparisons between industrial relations regimes in the hotel sector and compare relevant trade union experiences in the selected metropolitan areas of Oslo, Dublin, and Toronto. We ask how union strategies differ in these different hotel markets, and how strategic choices at a local level relate to industrial relations models, regulatory change, and corporate restructuring in the hotel market. The study is based on interviews with union representatives and key informants in Norway, Ireland, and Canada. The main argument we make is that the reorientation of union priorities and the willingness to engage in innovative strategies that has characterized hotel unionism in Toronto and Dublin is not detectable in the case of Oslo. This might be a result of the relatively strong position Norwegian trade unions have in national industrial relations, but can at the same time leave local hotel unions vulnerable as they are facing low unionization levels and corporate restructuring which they are unable to tackle effectively.

Satisfying the end-of-life vehicle (ELV) legislations is essential for business activities in some markets. However, with the lack of similar regulations for the treatment of ELV, automotive manufacturers follow different green practices. These practices can be a complex task such as an eco-design strategy or issuing a guideline or manual for the end-of-life phase of the product. Each of these practices also has different impacts on the other players in the market. Several factors contribute to manufacturers’ gain as a result of applying green practices. The uncertainties in these features and the absence of data availability raise the difficulty in the manufacturers’ profit estimation. This paper proposes a new approach to analysing automotive manufacturers’ strategic choice in applying ELV practices considering the competitive advantages of performing these practices and the interaction between players. A joint application of evolutionary game theory and fuzzy rule-based approach is proposed to analyse the strategic behaviour of automotive manufacturers. The proposed model provides a simulation environment for testing the interaction of the different market factors and players’ action. The experimental design highlights the validity of the model and its implications. The result reveals that when we have two populations of players including the market leader in recycling initiatives and market reader; the market elements such as ‘elasticity of demand to price’ and ‘loyalty of consumers to market leader’ play an essential role in determining the stable strategy of the game.

This chapter asks why it is important to understand union identities and starts from the position that unions, as with other organisations, project distinct identities in the public domain. It then asks what is wrong with existing theoretical approaches, recognising that earlier writers either adopt some form of categorisation or more flexible frameworks. It explores the application of organisational identity theories to the understanding of union identities and the significance of niche to trade unions. It explains how niche union identity and niche unionism can be understood through systematic observation and analysis of observable characteristics and identification of the sources of union identity. It recognises the very limited consideration of niche in industrial relations literature and to better understand the concept explores theories drawn from marketing, social identity theories, self-categorization theory and identity theory.

Do the restructuring of production networks, the decentralization of collective bargaining, and the rearticulation of work sites one to another across borders prompt local unions to engage in cross-border solidarities? Drawing on three cases in Mexico and three cases in Canada, this study identifies three patterns of local union involvement in cross-border alliances: defensive isolationism, risk aversion, and proactive solidarity. Four factors are associated with greater union involvement in cross-border alliances: local union power resources, especially discursive capacity or narrative framing; the orientation of the national or industry union; the thickness of and resources provided by international regulation; and the articulation between these different levels.

A Tale of Two Cities: Employer and Trade Union Responses to Local Government Retrenchment in Britain

Huge investments in green car research are being made in both the private and public sectors to cope with fuel shortage and environmental challenges. While the future of the green car industry is believed to be promising, its current status of technology is still remote from full-scale commercialisation. Interestingly, car manufacturers focus on different technologies for green car development, for instance, electric, fuel cells, and clean diesel. Given the platform characteristics of green car technology and the technology gap among manufacturers, an interesting question becomes whether both technologically superior and inferior green car manufacturers survive competition and if so, under what conditions. In this paper, we examine competing green car manufacturers’ strategic choice between price competition and technology improvement (e.g. R&D investment). Grounded in a stylised model, we find the profit- and welfare-maximising price levels and examine technology improvement effort. Next, we investigate how the scope of network externality and cost differential influence manufacturers’ strategic choices, and discuss the welfare implications.

Over the last decade a large decline in union membership and influence has been observed in many countries. This observation has prompted many researchers to consider the means by which individual unions are able to mitigate the effects of less favourable economic and political conditions on their functions as institutions designed to represent and defend worker interests. Such research suggests that unions can improve their labour market and political position through the reformulation of established union strategies. This paper contributes to this research agenda by developing a more robust construct of union strategy. It begins with a critical evaluation of the concept of ‘strategy’ and ‘strategic choice’ within the organisational studies and business strategy literatures, as well as its use in industrial relations theory. From there it develops a conceptual framework of union strategy. This framework posits that union strategies can be analysed in terms of four dimensions: objectives, methods, tactics and the level at which strategies are formulated and implemented. It also considers the nature of the strategy formulation process. This model, it is argued, could be operationalised in cross-national research on union strategy to investigate specific strategic patterns, the determinants of specific strategic patterns, and the relationship between different strategies and measures of union effectiveness.

This chapter provides a systematic overview of the European Union's identity in the Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). It begins with a brief description of the origins of the OECD, its mandate, structure and functioning and membership. This chapter's central aim is to explore what 'international identity' the EU can be said to possess within the OECD. It soughts to contribute to the general EU-IOs literature, as the Union's relationship with the OECD has barely gained academic attention, despite the latter's important role in global governance and the strong historical ties between both organizations. The main finding of this inquiry indicates that the EU does not hold a single, distinctive identity in the OECD. EU holds a 'quasi-membership status' in all OECD bodies, and that most of these deal with socio-economic policies-where the Union often possesses considerable competences and expertise, and is consequently less contested by its Member States. Keywords:Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD); European Union; global governance; Member States; socio-economic policies

The article considers the strategies of trade unions towards the representation of call centre workers. Using a comparative case study, it examines the divergent union responses to the growth of contingent labour by looking at the telecommunications industries in Italy and Greece. Although the trade unions in Italy pursued inclusive strategies embracing the call centre workers and negotiating the restructuring of the whole sector, the unions in Greece followed a policy of exclusion leaving call centre workers outside representation and negotiating their internal restructuring. The article argues that the different union identities, and the diverse power resources and internal organizational politics help explain the variation in the trade unions’ strategic responses.

The rapid development of the new energy industry has intensified the competition among companies. Finding solutions to achieve technological innovation, carbon reduction, and to earn consumers’ confidence has become a pressing challenge. In this research, we aim to develop a four-party evolutionary game model involving government, manufacturers, dealers, and consumers to examine the strategic decisions made by these parties in order to accomplish carbon emission reduction goals. We will perform numerical simulations to analyze the strategic choices of each party and the relevant influencing factors. The results suggest the following: (1) The tax hike on traditional car production is less than the innovation expenses for new energy vehicles, leading manufacturers to lean towards manufacturing traditional vehicles. (2) The rise in taxes resulting from the manufacture of conventional vehicles will influence manufacturers’ strategic decisions, whereas the expenses related to technological advancements will have a more significant effect on manufacturers’ strategic choices. (3) Compared to dealers, manufacturers’ strategic choices are more significantly influenced by consumers’ awareness of low-carbon preferences. (4) In the early stages of technological innovation, the government typically offers incentive subsidies to manufacturers to boost technological innovation activities. Whereas, in the later stages of technological innovation, the government usually provides direct subsidies to consumers to encourage the market acceptance and widespread use of innovative products.