Employers' organisations as social movements: Political power and identity work

• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/1748-8583.12209
• Date: 01 January 2019
• Published date: 01 January 2019
• Author: Lisa A. Sezer

SPECIAL ISSUE

Employers' organisations as social movements:

Political power and identity work

Lisa A. Sezer

Leicester Castle Business School, Department

of Politics, People and Place, De Montfort

University, Leicester, UK

Correspondence

Lisa A. Sezer, Leicester Castle Business School,

Department of Politics, People and Place, De

Montfort University, The Gateway, Leicester

LE1 9BH, UK.

Email: lisa.sezer@dmu.ac.uk

Abstract

The literature on employers' and business organisations

(EOs) has failed to analyse them as contentious organisa-

tions that apply identity work as a power resource to mobi-

lise resources and members. This article is based on a

qualitative case study of Islamic EOs in Turkey. Developing

a social movement model of EOs, I analyse the mechanisms

through which identity work with local religious collabora-

tors facilitated collective action and political power. I find

that the role of identity work was threefold: providing inter-

nal solidarity, securing external legitimacy, and supporting

contentious institutional change by developing new policy

ideas. This model can be applied more widely as EOs have

increasingly shifted from traditional roles to take on social

movement characteristics.

KEYWORDS

collectivism, CSR, employers association, qualitative research

methods, thematic analysis, trust

1|INTRODUCTION

In market economies with an institutionalised role for labour, a traditional process in the collective action of

employers is negotiating with trade unions. However, as institutional support for collective bargaining has declined,

employers' organisations (EO) have had to adapt and actively mobilise new members and resources to survive.Which

tactics they use and how these lead to continued influence are important questions. The employment relations (ER)

and HRM literatures either treat EOs as rational and functional organisations or focus on how structural–institutional

variables influence their success in mobilising and gaining political power. Studies in the corporatist tradition argue

that strong organisational structures facilitate both EOs' policy support for strategic national political elites by effi-

ciently controlling members and member mobilisation by efficient interest aggregation (Behrens & Helfen, 2009;

Schmitter & Streeck, 1999). More recent studies analyse EOs' new mix of activities and resources outside of collec-

tive bargaining, which appeal to employers' rational material and lobbying interests (Behrens & Traxler, 2004;

Received: 5 December 2016 Revised: 3 July 2018 Accepted: 17 July 2018

DOI: 10.1111/1748-8583.12209

Hum Resour Manag J. 2019;29:67–81. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltdwileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/hrmj 67