‘You see similarities more than differences after a while’. Communities of Practice in European industrial relations. The case of the hospital European Sectoral Social Dialogue

Galetto, M.; Weber, S.; Larsson, B.; Bechter, B.; Prosser, T.

Abstract

This article looks at the hospital European Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee (SSDC) through a Community of Practice (CoP) theoretical lens. Based on a 2-year project, qualitative in-depth interviews at the European level and in five Member states, and participant observation of the hospital SSDC, we propose a shift from traditional institutional and resource-based accounts and provide a learning and knowledge-focused understanding of this specific area of European industrial relations. Interpreting the SSDCs as a CoP sheds new light on the role of power relations, participation and informal activities among members and on how they work together; this, we find, can alert those interested in more effective functioning of the European Sectoral Social Dialogue on how to strengthen this supra-national level of industrial relations.

Citation

Galetto, M., Weber, S., Larsson, B., Bechter, B., & Prosser, T. (2023). ‘You see similarities more than differences after a while’. Communities of Practice in European industrial relations. The case of the hospital European Sectoral Social Dialogue. Industrial Relations Journal, 54(2), 167-185. https://doi.org/10.1111/irj.12396

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 30, 2023
• Online Publication Date: Feb 18, 2023
• Publication Date: 2023-03
• Deposit Date: Feb 17, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: May 30, 2023
• Journal: Industrial Relations Journal
• Print ISSN: 0019-8692
• Electronic ISSN: 1468-2338
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 54
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 167-185
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/irj.12396
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1180563