ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors begin by discussing the theoretical and empirical challenges surrounding public value, outlining their approach to sourcing empirical data. They assess how employers’ organisations contribute towards the creation of public value. Public value is part of a public management approach that stresses how networked and collaborative governance can address public challenges to deliver values beyond efficiency and effectiveness. The activities that have least potential for public value creation are those that focus on creating economic value within individual employer members. The authors outline their empirical findings and use two employers’ organisations as examples that illustrate their overall findings in more detail. Employers in the United Kingdom often engage in collective action to coordinate economic activities and employment relations with the aim of gaining advantages for their businesses. The Engineers Employers’ Federation (EEF) was founded in 1896 as the EEF to represent the interests of engineering employers in relation to unions.
