ABSTRACT
The editors have invited me to discuss, against the background of the evidence and arguments in the preceding chapters, how British experience of (social) partnership compares with that in continental Europe. In approaching this task I will address four intersecting themes. First, I will explore some of the linguistic, ideological and institutional foundations of what turn out to be rather different national understandings of partnership. Second, I will suggest that many of these differences parallel the debate which in often polarised fashion is central to the British literature on partnership: what is the balance (or imbalance) of advantage in partnership relationships; who benefits? Third, since so much academic analysis of the topic adopts the concept of employee voice, I will address some of the ambiguities inherent in Hirschman’s (1970) seminal work on exit, voice and loyalty. Finally I will consider whether partnership in times of stable markets and economic growth and stability has different implications from partnership in hard times.
