Civil regulation and human resource management: the impact of civil society organisations on the policies and practices of employers

While the concept of civil regulation has begun to feature in the business and management literature, it has yet to be applied to the management of people at work. Data from a study of how civil society organisations try to influence directly the policies and practices of employers are used to examine how civil regulation operates in the field of HRM. An approach to conceptualising regulatory systems is used as a framework for demonstrating the main characteristics of civil regulation. The development of civil regulation attests to the complex regulatory environment governing HRM, highlighting the continued importance of institutions in an original and distinctive manner.