This article compares sensemaking processes in multinational corporations (MNCs) situated in the same industrial sector. Our comparative analysis of three MNCs and their subsidiaries in Germany and the United Kingdom aims to shed light on the contextual dimension (institutions, culture, and politics) of the sensemaking process. First, I discuss ideologies related to the discourse about global restructuring of manufacturing. Second, I compare similarities and differences in vocabularies of the (multinational) organizations. Third, I compare cross-national vocabularies of work in German and U.K. subsidiaries. Finally I suggest a political approach of sensemaking referring to stories used to legitimize or delegitimize dominant ideologies about global manufacturing, established decision-premises within the MNC, and specific nationally entrenched work paradigms.
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