Engagement in European social dialogue: an investigation into the role of social partner structural capacity

Despite the importance of social dialogue for the European social model, there has been little attention to the factors that account for social partner engagement with European social dialogue. On the basis of data from 28 European sectoral social dialogue committees, this article investigates structural factors that account for the conclusion of European sectoral social dialogue agreements. It is found that actors' organisational density is a necessary but not sufficient factor for successful European social dialogue and four different categories of sectoral social partner engagement with European social dialogue are identified.