A scoping review on the conceptualisation of employer engagement in the employment of vulnerable workers: An interdisciplinary perspective

Workers with a vulnerable position on the labour market face difficulties finding and maintaining decent work. An increasing body of research on the demand-side of the labour market investigates the involvement of employers in active labour market policies, often referred to as employer engagement. However, the concept of employer engagement varies, causing ambiguity in its definition and use in research. This scoping review investigated sixty-three documents (e.g., peer reviewed scientific papers and grey literature) on employer engagement and outlines the current conceptualisations of employer engagement. By combining the conceptualisations taking a stakeholder-oriented approach, a four stakeholder group perspective on employer engagement was developed. With the organisation as an entity, HRM, line managers, and institutional stakeholders. This review deepens the understanding of employer engagement and contributes to the literature by taking an interdisciplinary approach and offers suggestions for future research.