‘Smart’ industrial relations in the making? : insights from analysis of Union responses to digitalization in Italy

Abstract

How do unions respond to the challenges of digitalization? What is shaping their strategies, and to what extent are these strategies adaptive, innovative, or experimental? Looking at the macro, meso, and micro levels of industrial relations in Italy, we find that unions have thus far dealt with digitalization’s disruptive effects mainly by attempting to extend established institutions where they enjoy greater power resources and favourable opportunity structures, i.e., sectoral collective bargaining. Unions have also promoted minor innovative and, sporadically, experimental initiatives to strengthen their framing capabilities and organizational outreach, but with hitherto limited impact. We contribute to the debate over unions in the digital age by underscoring how structural-institutional and agential features mediate union responses and, arguably, the prospects of ‘smart’ industrial relations.