Abstracts
Abstract
This article examines the interest representation of European Employers’ Organizations (EEOs) in the European Union (EU). Previous literature in employment relations focused on employer activity in social dialogue, while literature in political science focused on political representation and how business associations lobby EU political institutions. Going beyond this dualism in the literature, this article suggests that gaining a full understanding of the interest representation of European Employers Organizations requires analyzing interactions between the political and social dialogue arenas. We argue that EEOs gain legitimacy through participating in social dialogue to facilitate their primary focus of political interest representation. Strategic and institutional perspectives on legitimacy provide insights into how EEOs respond to challenges and manage their environment within the EU to pursue their interests.
Keywords:
- employers’ organizations,
- legitimacy,
- European Union,
- social dialogue,
- political representation,
- lobbying,
- European employment relations
Résumé
Cet article examine la représentation des intérêts des organisations d’employeurs européens dans l’Union européenne. La littérature antérieure sur les relations d'emploi s'est concentrée sur l’activité des employeurs dans le cadre du dialogue social, tandis que celle en science politique s’est surtout intéressée à la représentation politique et la manière dont les associations d’entreprises font pression (lobbyisme) sur les institutions politiques. Dépassant ce dualisme notre article suggère qu’une compréhension complète de la représentation des intérêts des organisations européennes d’employeurs nécessite une analyse approfondie des interactions entre les sphères politique et du dialogue social. Nous soutenons que les organisations européennes d’employeurs gagnent en légitimité en participant au dialogue social afin de faciliter la représentation de leurs intérêts politiques. Les perspectives stratégiques et institutionnelles de la légitimité permettent de comprendre comment elles répondent aux défis et gèrent leur environnement au sein de l’Union européenne pour poursuivre leurs intérêts.
Mots-clés :
- Organisations d’employeurs,
- Légitimité,
- Union Européene,
- Dialogue Social,
- Représentation politique,
- Lobbying,
- Relations d’emploi Européennes
Appendices
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