Are Multinational Enterprises’ Industrial Relations Strategies Shaped by Host Countries’ Laws and Trade Unions?
Keywords:
multinational enterprises, foreign direct investment, industrial relations, globalisation, international tradeAbstract
There has been considerable attention applied to the degree of operational strategy convergence of Multinational Enterprises (MNE’s) in the host countries within which they operate globally. This paper expands upon this concept with specific focus applied to industrial relations (IR) strategies and the extent to which these are shaped by the host countries’ laws and trade union influence. Specific attention is given to MNE’s originating from the United States of America, China and Australia to explore whether there are differences in attitude and approaches based on host country values. From this review it appears that the country from which the MNE originates does influence the methodology that is adopted. However, there is no definite doctrine that can be concluded from this discussion, there being a number of varying determinants which have seen many MNE’s adopt a hybrid model of IR strategy, influenced by both the home and host countries. The continued emergence and growth of outward foreign direct investment (FDI) from developing nations, coupled with evolving industrial relations systems throughout the world should continue to provide fertile ground for future researchers to examine the extent to which local laws and unions shape the industrial relations strategies of multinational enterprises.
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