The country-of-origin and country-of-operations effect on organised labour in multinational companies – exploring the role of labour relations models

Abstract

While research on managing labour relations in multinational companies (MNCs) has made great strides in recent years, large-scale quantitative comparisons of these companies’ behaviour and the extent to which this behaviour is shaped by country-of-origin and country-of-operations institutional effects are still in short supply. In this article we analyse organised labour activities in 18 countries via a sample of 1872 private organisations – 874 MNCs and 998 domestic organisations – using the Cranet survey database. Research results imply a weaker position of organised labour in MNCs than in domestic private organisations. MNCs from the Anglo-Saxon and Corporatist labour relations environment were found to adapt their labour relations practices to the local setting to a significant extent, while Mediterranean MNCs proved less adaptable. They all recognised organised labour endeavours to a greater extent when required, yet reduced their recognition of these when this was acceptable from a local labour relations environment perspective, implying opportunistic behaviour.