The Many Meanings of Co‐Operation in the Employment Relationship and Their Implications

Co‐operation in the employment relationship continues to be a widely lauded goal, but academics, practitioners and policy makers rarely define the concept or analyse systematically its variants. This is problematic because a lack of clarity is a significant barrier to academic discourse and practical implementation in many organizations and countries. This article therefore carefully develops a framework that results in six key perspectives on co‐operation rooted in five assumptions. In addition to fostering a deeper understanding of co‐operation, these six perspectives can be used to theorize alternative employment relations paradigms when co‐operation rather than conflict is viewed as the central construct. Moreover, a dynamic analysis of these six perspectives adds new insights to understanding the challenges of achieving and sustaining truly co‐operative regimes, while also highlighting the need to go beyond structures and practices by incorporating the role of ideas in analyses of the success or failure of co‐operative efforts.