Patterns of Employee Relations Governance in a Large British Multinational Food Retailer: An Unusual Case of a Longstanding Partnership?

Abstract

This article investigates an example of variance from the Varieties of Capitalism literature in the case of a longstanding partnership between a major British food retail multinational company and the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (USDAW). We argue that it can be seen as a corporate attempt to institutionalize conflict and engage the energies of the employees in achieving corporate goals in a situation of high union membership density and recognition in the UK retail industry. The findings underline the importance of sectoral diversity within national capitalist economies in the context of increased internationalization and the significant role still played by labour even in a liberal market economy such as the UK.