Ideas at Work: a Discursive Institutionalist Analysis of Diversity Management and Social Dialogue in France, Germany and Sweden

This article applies discursive institutionalism (DI) to a comparative analysis of the relationship between diversity management and social dialogue. Schmidt’s (2008, 2010) method of ‘who said what, when and why’ and her concepts of actors’ ‘background discursive’ and ‘foreground ideational’ abilities are used to analyse the dynamic relationship between ideas (diversity management) and the institutional environment (social dialogue and national models of integration). It is argued that diversity management provided an opportunity either to maintain or strengthen existing levels of social dialogue, or to promote a more voluntary, managerial and individualist approach to equality issues. The research demonstrates the merits of DI for providing a fine-grained explanation of the (arguably) counter-intuitive outcomes in France, Germany and Sweden. Another aim is to respond to Hauptmeier and Heery’s (2014) calls for more recognition of the role of ideas in shaping the form, dynamics and products of the employment relationship and HRM.