Are MNCs norm entrepreneurs or followers? The changing relationship between host country institutions and MNC HRM practices

Rooted in the literature on comparative capitalism, we examine the effects of host country institutions on the intra-organizational practices of multinational corporations (MNCs), using transnational level survey data, exploring change over time. We found that the less comprehensive institutional mediation of the Liberal Market Economies correlated with greater diversity and a more pronounced difference between domestic firms and foreign MNCs. However, rather than being the predicted norm entrepreneurs, MNCs tended to follow the lead of local firms in adjusting HRM policies and practices towards liberalization. Those most prone to challenging existing orders were in industries facing particular crises of competitiveness. Finally, we found that single regulatory features rather than complex assemblies of institutions exerted particularly strong effects on the individual firms’ practices encompassed in this study

International capital mobility in an era of globalisation: adding a political dimension to the 'Feldstein–Horioka Puzzle'

The debate about the scope of feasible policy-making in an era of globalisation continues to be set within the context of an assumption that national capital markets are now perfectly integrated at the international level. However, the empirical evidence on international capital mobility contradicts such an assumption. As a consequence, a significant puzzle remains. Why is it, in a world in which the observed pattern of capital flows is indicative of a far from globalised reality, that public policy continues to be constructed in line with more extreme variants of the globalisation hypothesis? I attempt to solve this puzzle by arguing that ideas about global capital market integration have an independent causal impact on political outcomes which extends beyond that which can be attributed to the extent of their actual integration

Historical-institutionalist perspectives on the development of the EU budget system

The EU budget has only recently started to feature in theories of European integration. Studies typically adopt a historical-institutionalist framework, exploring notions such as path dependency. They have, however, generally been rather aggregated, or coarse-grained, in their approach. The EU budget has thus been treated as a single entity rather than a series of inter-linked institutions. This paper seeks to address these lacunae by adopting a fine-grained approach. This enables us to emphasize the connections that exist between EU budgetary institutions, in both time and space. We show that the initial set of budgetary institutions was unable, over time, to achieve consistently their treaty-based objectives. In response, rather than reform these institutions at potentially high political cost, additional institutions were layered on top of the extant structures. We thus demonstrate how some EU budgetary institutions have remained unchanged, whilst others have been added or changed over time

Containing, embracing and hyper-activating Britishness: British-based foreign-owned firms

There are in the UK ownership forms different to the characteristics of Britishness – British-based foreign-owned firms where dominant owners may have differentiated control interests. These may contain, that is, override, national institutional characteristics embedded in a particular national capitalism. Accordingly, separating the agency of these firms from presumed business system structures may reveal how diverse patterns of firm ownership – those associated with British-based foreign-owned firms – can inform dynamic ownership developments in British capitalism which contain and hyper-activate Britishness. The article theorizes British-based foreign-owned firms and provides empirical detail on how ownership characteristics influence financial commitment and strategic control in 10 of these firms

International Journal of Human Resource Management (IJHRM) Special Issue on:International human resource management in contexts of high uncertainties

The aim of this special issue is to examine more closely of the implementations of international human resource management (IHRM) practices in the contexts of high uncertainties. It seeks contexts of relevance, encompassing those experiencing financial crisis, economic sanctions, political and civil uncertainty, environmental collapse and/or deep recession. It aims to supplement the Danger and Risk as Challenges for HRM in the IJHRM special issue which encompasses terrorism, violent disorder, crime and other physical risks, by focusing on initially seemingly peaceful forms of uncertainty, even if their consequences might lead to societal collapse. While appreciating that these contexts are very different, the key theme that cuts across all of these contexts are the unexpected changes that they brought, creating considerable ambiguity for businesses, and how they manage their people. Businesses will face the challenges of coping in such contexts, with unpredictability in demand, and in supplier relations, in adding greater time pressure to the decision-making process, and in terms of work and employment relations (Pearson & Clair, 1998). Through operating in different settings, multinational enterprises (MNEs) may be able to hedge risk, but at the same time protecting their own interest from a distance can be extremely difficult (Cantwell, Dunning, & Lundan, 2010). They will also impact on MNE decisions to invest and reinvest in particular settings (Oh & Oetzel, 2011). However, reducing or eliminating their presence in the host location is not always possible. MNEs may have substantial resources and infrastructural interests in the host location that need to be protected. Again, there is often a pressing need of MNEs to use expatriates on international assignments to complete strategically critical tasks, but the same time managing expatriate staff becomes much more difficult when countries of domicile become less certain. However, these situations often present golden opportunity for businesses. Studies have found that the option value of MNEs in entering a country under the uncertain conditions can be high (Miller, 1998). This is because government and international bodies often inject considerable amount of investments into the affected countries in aiding the recovery and rebuilding process and, in turn, pumped up the local aggregate demands, opening new opportunities for MNEs in relevant industries (Vigdor, 2008). At the same time, consumers’ demand for products and services may change; demand may not necessarily decline, but what consumers may want may be different, and this will impact on the demands placed on a firm’s human resources. These MNEs may therefore experience expansion of workforce under these situations.Full Tex

Home country advantage? The influence of Italian, German and Austrian employee representatives in the UniCredit European Works Council

This article examines the first European Works Council (EWC) to be established in the Italian banking sector, at UniCredit. It focuses on the interaction between Italian, German and Austrian delegations of employee representatives and on the perspectives and practices that reflect their different cultural and institutional backgrounds in industrial relations. Much of the literature suggests that employee representatives from the home country of a multinational company are likely to mould EWC structures in accordance with their own national backgrounds and have greater confidence in dealing with central management in EWC meetings. Our findings partly substantiate this argument, but also suggest that minority delegations, when they have the benefit of strong national institutional arrangements and less fragmented union patterns, are more likely to be cohesive and experienced and therefore able to challenge management and sometimes win significant arguments over strategy

The changing patterns of group politics in Britain

Two interpretations of ways in which group politics in Britain have presented challenges to democracy are reviewed: neo-corporatism or pluralistic stagnation and the rise of single issue interest groups. The disappearance of the first paradigm created a political space for the second to emerge. A three-phase model of group activity is developed: a phase centred around production interests, followed by the development of broadly based 'other regarding' groups, succeeded by fragmented, inner directed groups focusing on particular interests. Explanations of the decay of corporatism are reviewed. Single issue group activity has increased as party membership has declined and is facilitated by changes in traditional media and the development of the internet. Such groups can overload the policy-making process and frustrate depoliticisation. Debates about the constitution and governance have largely ignored these issues and there is need for a debate