Power resource theory for contemporary society: A research framework

The opening chapter outlines the propositions and core elements of power resource theory. The theory’s basic casual argument is that societal development is driven primarily by the power struggles and the configurations of power between workers and employers. At the same time, understanding the power relations that drive societal change is complex in contemporary societies because workers and employers have become more diversified categories and the types of power resources they can mobilise are multiple. The chapter, therefore, offers a generic definition of power that can accommodate different types of power resources, before defining five types of power resources: structural, associational, institutional, ideational, and coalitional. Additionally, some theoretical propositions that shape and clarify the theory are outlined. The chapter also highlights how the interests and power of workers and employers are contingent on historically specific circumstances. Workers’ interests are hence not homogeneous (nor are employers’), and the distribution of power resources may deter actors from engaging in overt conflict. Therefore, power resource theory also offers a theory for explaining why workers and employers may cooperate but without assuming that the underlying antagonism between them has disappeared.