ABSTRACT
This chapter locates the main focus of the research, trade union responses to change, within a theoretical framework based upon a discussion of relevant literature. First, it considers the degree to which trade union responses have been characterized as strategic, and the variables which have typically been associated with effective strategic development. Second, it summarizes the approaches which it has been recommended that trade unions should adopt, in the face of an increasingly hostile environment. Finally, it relates these issues to the adoption of a particular, qualitative methodology in the research. Importantly, the chapter seeks to provide an analytical framework for the interpretation of the data on trade union responses which is reported in Chapters 4 to 7.
