Varieties of Institutional Theory in Comparative Employment Relations

This chapter explores four variants of institutionalism and what they can tell us about the nature and evolution of employment relations. Rational choice institutionalism’s strength in explaining stable institutional equilibria helps us understand why employment relations systems evolve slowly in a path-dependent fashion. Historical institutionalism takes a more actor-centric approach that attributes greater latitude to actors in interpreting how institutions are to be applied and in reshaping those institutions along with their shifting preferences. Sociological institutionalism moves further away from rational choice conceptions by positing that actors are guided by a ‘logic of appropriateness’. This approach seems particularly useful in understanding how certain practices diffuse from one setting to another. Constructivist institutionalism gives greater explanatory weight to the substantive content of ideas themselves in shaping actor behaviour and institutional change. In conclusion the authors suggest some ways that comparative employment research can profit from engaging with all four variants of institutionalism.