Representativeness of business organizations in dialogue with public administration

Abstract

Background: The research explores the concept of representativeness of business organizations from the perspective of various social sciences: sociology, law, and economics.

Research purpose: Designing and implementing economic policy requires the existence of an effective framework for dialogue between state institutions and organizations representing entrepreneurs. For this dialogue to be substantive, it should be conducted with appropriate business representatives. However, in law the concept of representativeness is defined only in the context of the provisions of the Act on the Social Dialogue Council, which has only six employersʼ organizations as members. These entities cannot be considered representative of all entrepreneurs in Poland. In the absence of a horizontal, legal definition, the main purpose of the research is to identify the conditions necessary to indicate which business organizations can be representative in the field of social sciences.

Methods: The study reviews sociological, economic, and legal literature. The deductive method and critical analysis of selected law were used.

Conclusions: The research results indicate the need to develop – using tools applied in sociology and statistics – and introduce into the legal system a horizontal legal definition of business representative organizations. Such a definition would clearly specify the criteria for access of business organizations to consultation processes related to the economy and constitute the basis for a clear definition of consultation obligations on the public sector. The authors also point out that the definitional problem results from the lack of universal (common) chambers of commerce set under public law in Poland, which by its nature would be a representative institution for all entrepreneurs.