Projects / Programmes
Work, Education and Employment Analyses
January 1, 2020
- December 31, 2027
| Code |
Science |
Field |
Subfield |
| 5.03.00 |
Social sciences |
Sociology |
|
| 5.04.00 |
Social sciences |
Administrative and organisational sciences |
|
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| S210 |
Social sciences |
Sociology |
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| 5.04 |
Social Sciences |
Sociology |
| 5.06 |
Social Sciences |
Political science |
VoC theory, HRM, employee participation, labour market, work flexibilisation, labour and employment relations, industrial relations, collective bargaining, social dialogue, competence development, skill formation.
Data for the last 5 years (citations for the last 10 years) on
April 25, 2024;
A3 for period
2018-2022
| Database |
Linked records |
Citations |
Pure citations |
Average pure citations |
| WoS |
148 |
1,877 |
1,769 |
11.95 |
| Scopus |
211 |
3,224 |
3,029 |
14.36 |
Researchers (24)
Organisations (1)
Abstract
The research programme spans the broad topic of the transition from “real socialism” to a “market economy”, which overlaps the processes entailed in the Europeanisation of Central and Eastern European (CEE) “post-communist” societies and their transition to post-Fordism (Boyer: 2014). The programme’s underlying conceptual framework is the neo-institutional theory as defined within the VoC theory (Hall and Soskice, 2001) and adjusted by its critiques (Crouch: 2005; Streeck and Thelen, 2005). VoC sets out two ideal types of capitalism: a liberal market economy (LME) and a coordinated market economy (CME); in principle, it stresses the presence of “institutional complementarity” between social security systems, basic types of skills and companies’ prevailing market strategies, with qualitative differences being observed in this respect between these two types of capitalism. It resumes these complementarities within the “welfare-production regime” (WPR) concept (Estevez-Abe, Iversen and Soskice, 2001; Iversen, 2005).
In terms of VoC, “post-socialist” societies have largely adopted a liberal market economy. The abrupt political pluralisation of these societies was typically followed by a surge of rapid neo-liberal reforms whose results were often more radical than the results of the liberalisation of democratic capitalist societies. Put differently, the results were more neo-liberal than the outcomes of the neo-liberal reforms applied in western countries.
However, Slovenia was an exception. The specific features of Yugoslav socialism allowed it to embrace capitalism using an alternative approach; it was the only “post-socialist” country to be characterised by neo-corporatism already in the early stages of its transition (Bohle & Greskovits, 2007; 2012; Feldman, 2006). The system survived for at least more than 10 years until the mid-2000s, when changes to it began to fit more within the neo-liberal turn. Those changes were triggered by the country joining the EU in 2004 and the eurozone in 2007, further intensifying during the crisis during 2009–2013.
Our research project’s key goal is to explain the genesis of the changes occurring in the Slovenian system, recent developments in the context of the latest European (dis)integration processes, and the general rise of globalisation-related pressures. Relying on past research findings and the starting points outlined above, the research team will continue to focus on the study of “institutional (non)complementarity”, i.e. changes in the welfare-production regime in Slovenia. Within the broad field of institutional (non)complementarity, the team will examine three core issues: the question of (non)complementarity on the micro level (within and among firms and related stakeholders); the relatedness of those micro-relations to movements and splits in the labour market (flexibilisation and segmentation); strategic changes in interest-based (intermediary) organising and shaping the formation of public policies.
Significance for science
The research programme team applies, empirically verifies and upgrades the concepts of neo-institutional theory. Due to Slovenia’s quite successful development in the 1990s and the system’s latest ‘response’ to the (debt) crisis, the international (research) community has a relatively strong interest in including Slovenia in comparative analyses. The key outcome of our work would be to determine the limits and/or development potential of the mechanisms underpinning traditional intra-family solidarity and the wider, redistributive solidarity within a small transition country. Scientific analysis of the current system’s comparative advantages and setbacks, and the attempts to reform it, along with understanding of the consequences of the changes observed, could bring new insights into the field of sociology in general, and the sociology of work and similar disciplines in particular.
In our opinion, the team’s interdisciplinary character and corresponding diversity of methodological approaches that are employed give an extra advantage that will help produce more comprehensive results. We expect our analysis to contribute knowledge about the social and economic situation and the prospects of various social groups (class, age and gender dimensions). Our previous analysis showed the importance of understanding gender-specific changes on all levels of the analysis; therefore, we expect further study of this specific dimension would enrich our scientific findings.
Significance for the country
We concluded in previous research studies that Slovenia’s economic development was chiefly based on the growing flexibility of work and employment and increased intensity of labour. We established that up until the mid-2000s the system was capable of adapting itself to the circumstances and that, after 2008, it experienced a crisis reflected increasing social divisions, polarisations and open conflicts. Team members study the influence of (altering) endogenous and exogenous factors on changes to the employment system and employment relations in Slovenia, thereby helping to identify the changes that are optimal for the country’s development.
By comparing the developments in Slovenia and changes on the international level, our analysis contributes to applicable solutions of interest to social and employment policymakers. The team obtains and contributes data by participating in international research networks and projects (e.g. CRANET, European Foundation for the Improvement of Working and Living Conditions to name just a few) in the areas of HRM and business strategies, collective employment relations, labour market policies in the post-crisis period, youth employment and gender gaps in employment, family crisis, and changes in collective bargaining and social concertation.
The team members’ scientific findings and corresponding applicable solutions are disseminated among students at various academic levels (undergraduate, postgraduate, doctoral) through the teaching process, and among the professional and general public via articles in scientific and specialised journals and other professional activities (participation in public debates, cooperation with and expert assistance given to policymakers and strategists concerned with relevant work areas).
