One Company, Diverse Workplaces: The Social Construction of Employment Practices in Western and Eastern Europe
Marta Kahancová
MPIfG Book
Abstract
In the complex world of corporate and host-country influences, social interaction between multinational and local actors, including employees, trade unions and the local society, is the underlying social mechanism through which employment practices are constructed. This focus is a conceptual amendment to the comparative institutionalist perspective on multina-tionals, integrating actors’ values, interests, behavior, and social interaction within the broader framework of the comparative institutional approach.
This book provides an inquiry into the process through which multinational companies establish and reinforce their position in host-country labor markets. A particular focus is on the construction of employment practices in multinationals’ subsid-iaries across Western European and post-socialist Central and Eastern European host countries, and the assessment of their diversity across the subsidiaries of the same company.
Presenting original empirical evidence gathered in five countries, it is a direct response to recent literature’s call for syste-matic comparative analyses of processes and outcomes of politics inside multinational firms and the relationship between management and employees in a cross-national perspective.
Contents
Introduction: Multinationals and Employment Practices Across Europe
Constructing Employment Practices in MNCs: A Framework for Analysis
One Multinational, Four Host Countries: On Diversity in Subsidiary Employment Practices
Channelling Corporate Values and Interests: Social Interaction within the Multinational Company
Building a Local Corporate Presence: Social Interaction Between the MNC and Local Societies
From Bargaining to Dancing: Social Interaction Between the Multinational Company and Local Trade Unions
The Social Foundations of Trade Union Influence: Cross-Border Interaction of Trade Unions and the European Works Council
Accounting for Diversity: Company Interests, Host-Country Effects and Social Interaction
Conclusions: Multinationals, Employment Practices and Institutional Change from Below