Employers' associations play a significant role in a country's industrial relations through their functioning as a collective entity for business. Their substantial influence over industrial relations stems from their ability to negotiate agreements with trade unions and governmental bodies. Analysing these associations provides insight into the power relations at the labour market and the strategic interactions that drive both cooperation and conflict between the labour market parties.
Previous research on employers' associations has briefly noted their efforts to create international linkages and interact in various ways—particularly concerning the integration of the European Community—while studies of industrial relations have viewed employers' associations as solely national entitles.
The study is based on an analysis of previously unexamined material related to the Swedish Employers' Association (Svensk Arbetsgivarförening, SAF) and documentation from their various overseas trips and interactions with international labour market parties during the period from 1950 to 1990. The material primarily focuses on trips to the UK and the US, the two countries to which SAF predominantly turned. The period is based, among other factors, on the significant political, structural, and technological changes that occurred during that time, which have had a substantial impact on a country’s industrial relations.
The purpose of this study is to examine how a country's industrial relations are influenced by the interactions of its employers' associations with international parties, and its development over time. By focusing on these associations, the study aims to provide insight into how a nation's industrial relations and labour market—typically viewed as national phenomena—are shaped by international influences, thus expanding the understanding of their dynamics within a broader international context.