This article examines the impact of the current economic and financial crisis on the consistency of the corporatist dynamic that has oriented governments, trade unions and employers' associations towards consensus in Spain, Italy and Portugal over the past two decades. Following the analytical framework developed by Öbert et al. (2011), which interprets corporatism as a process of political dialogue, we analyse whether the conditions that make exchange possible have been altered during the crisis and, ask, if this is the case, whether such a transformation is cyclical or structural in nature. New limitations on the autonomy of national governments with regard to the design of socio-economic policies have arisen. These are related to the supervision of national politics by supranational institutions, the introduction of which has profoundly altered some of the basic requirements for corporatist political dialogue: the mandate or sovereignty in decision-making and the value of the assets available for exchange between stakeholders.

ResumenLos pactos sociales han sustentado la agenda de reformas socioeconómicas en la mayor parte de países de Europa occidental a lo largo de las últimas décadas. Sin embargo, la irrupción de la crisis económica ha erosionado la orientación general hacia el acuerdo. Desde 2008 se ha producido una deriva desde la «negociación hacia la imposición», que ha resultado particularmente intensa en el Sur de Europa. En España y Portugal, la puesta en marcha de reformas unilaterales por parte de los gobiernos bajo la vigilancia de las instituciones comunitarias ha provocado el debilitamiento de los pactos sociales. El artículo evalúa la reconfiguración de los equilibrios entre gobiernos y agentes sociales en estos dos países en el contexto de la crisis económica. Para ello, se analiza la emergencia de una nueva dinámica de intercambio político corporatista que combina el diálogo discontinuo y de corto alcance con la confrontación. PalabRas claveAgentes sociales; Conflicto sociolaboral; Diálogo social; Gobiernos; Intercambio político corporatista. abstRactIn most European countries, the reform agenda on socioeconomic issues has been backed on social pacts throughout the last decades. However, the upsurge of the economic crisis has hampered this general orientation towards agreement and consensus. From 2008 and on there has been a transformation «from negotiation to imposition» which has been particularly severe in Southern Europe. In Spain and Portugal, the implementation of unilateral reforms by the governments under the surveillance of the European institutions has provoked the weakening of social pacts. The article evaluates the reconfiguration of the relation between governments and social partners in these two countries as a consequence of the economic crisis. It also analyses the emergence of a new dynamic of corporatist political exchange which combines irregular and short-range dialogue with confrontation.

RESUMENEl término innovación ha adquirido un carácter casi omnipresente en el contexto de la intensificación competitiva que acompaña a la globalización. El fomento de la capacidad innovadora figura entre los principales objetivos de los gestores públicos y privados. Sin embargo, se carece de un concepto académico debidamente elaborado de innovación, más allá de los enunciados genéricos y estrechos comúnmente manejados en los ámbitos económicos y de negocio. El artículo explora un conjunto de fuentes que podrían utilizarse para elaborar un concepto sociológico de innovación susceptible de ser incorporado a las actuales teorías sobre organización económica y cambio institucional. Para ello, se revisan tres corrientes de reflexión teórica sobre innovación, que se integran en un mismo paradigma de la innovación: las aportaciones de la Economía Política de Marx y Schumpeter; las contribuciones de la Economía Evolutiva; y la Economía Política del Desarrollo. A partir de ellas, se propone una re-conceptualización sociológica de la idea de innovación ajustada a la teoría socioeconómica de instituciones dinámicas. PAlAbRAS clAvEInnovación, conocimiento, competitividad, cambio institucional, sociología económica..

PurposeThis article aims to develop an original conceptual approach for the research and analysis of European works councils (EWCs) through a critical examination of the theoretical debate on the Europeanization of industrial relations and the main results of the huge body of quantitative and qualitative empirical studies of these transnational bodies for effective worker participation.Design/methodology/approachStarting from the authors' own experiences in qualitative case‐study research, they summarise the main developments of EWCs as the most advanced institutional piece in the emerging dimension of European industrial relations and discuss the strength and weakness of the different approaches employed in EWC research.FindingsFrom a perspective of “political economy of European integration” the development of EWCs shows the changing power constellations at the micro‐ and meso‐level of transnational firm complexes. More than 800 EWCs councils with thousands of workers' representatives generate hope for an emergent system of industrial relations, but globalization, economic crisis, intensification of regime competition or the consequences on employment of relocation, restructuring and downsizing are threatening advances in this fundamental piece of the European social project.Originality/valueThe paper offers not only a comprehensive state of the art of theoretical debate and empirical research on EWCs, but develops an original and innovative analytical approach for future research. In a meso‐political perspective, linking together micro‐politics with the interaction of the firm with other collective actors, namely public authorities, trade unions and employers' associations at different levels, transnational industrial relations at company level are best analysed as dynamic networks of actors embedded in the framework of the transnational corporation, conceived as a political complex with different actors struggling for increasing their influence on corporate decision‐making processes.

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La valoración de las principales instituciones del Estado ha experimentado un deterioro a lo largo de los años de crisis económica en España. Desde 2008, la satisfacción de los ciudadanos con el funcionamiento de la democracia y de sus principales piezas institucionales ha sufrido un notable desgaste, que ha afectado a los partidos políticos, pero también a otros grupos de representación de intereses privados con participación en los procesos de formulación de políticas públicas, como los sindicatos. El objetivo de esta contribución es examinar las tendencias recientes de valoración pública de los sindicatos por parte de la ciudadanía española. Para ello, se explotan los datos sobre valoración de las instituciones españolas que recoge el barómetro del CIS, elaborándose un análisis descriptivo de las actitudes de los ciudadanos hacia las organizaciones sindicales para el periodo 2003 a 2015. El interés de la propuesta de investigación se fundamenta en la escasez de estudios sobre valoración pública y legitimidad social de los sindicatos en España, a pesar de la relevancia de este espacio de investigación para la literatura sobre recursos de poder y estrategias de revitalización sindical.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine European Union (EU) industrial relations in their development over time. It describes and analyzes their main constituent parts, which are deployed along four interlinked institutional dimensions: tripartite concertation; cross-industry social dialogue; sectoral social dialogue; and employee representation and negotiation at the transnational company level. The focus lies strictly on the emerging EU layer of industrial relations, which is common to the different Member States and not on comparative European industrial relations. Design/methodology/approach The paper is conceptual in nature. It considers the differences and mutually interdependent legal and political processes, policies and institutions between EU industrial relations and national industrial relations. Findings The findings substantiate that EU industrial relations constitute an incomplete but perfectly traceable transnational reality distinct from industrial relations in the Member States. EU industrial relations are not to supersede but to supplement national industrial relations. Neither the EU institutional framework nor the European social partners have the mandate, legitimation or desire to perform a more ambitious role. Research limitations/implications More empirically oriented research would further support the findings in the paper. Originality/value The paper presents a conceptual review based on a comprehensive and critical reading of the literature on EU industrial relations. It also puts labor strategies at the forefront of the analysis in corporate relocation.

This article investigates the transformative potential of the Next Generation EU (NG-EU) initiative in social protection taking South European (SE) countries as a test case. It starts with a brief examination of the main social parameters of the EPSR and how these intertwine with the NG-EU strategy that links recovery from the pandemic with the EU's long-term green and digital transition objectives. This is followed by a comparative overview of the SE countries' social, green and digital outlook when embarking upon the recovery path. In light of these, the National Recovery and Resilience Plans (NRRPs) of the four countries are scrutinised vis-à-vis the NG-EU specified priority flagship areas. The political background of the plans, the impact of the EPSR on their policy options, and their recalibration potential are comparatively analysed. In setting the course for a twin transition, all four plans share a focus on addressing long-standing social challenges mainly by bolstering productive welfare measures. But path-dependent differences in policy mixes and varying policy integration can weigh significantly on outcomes.