Legitimacy and Employment Relations Research: A Review and Research Agenda

Abstract

This article provides a comprehensive review of existing research and develops an agenda for analyzing legitimacy in employment relations. It argues that legitimacy should be understood as a dynamic and contested process through which actors, institutions and policy ideas are legitimated, delegitimated and reworked. The article examines the legitimacy of employment relations ideas, the relationship between legitimacy, power and politics, the legitimacy of employment relations actors and of employment relations as a field of study. It concludes by locating the articles in this special issue within this broad agenda and draws out key insights for legitimacy research in employment relations.