HRM and IR in Multinational Corporations in Denmark: Uneasy Bedfellows?

TY - JOUR

T1 - HRM and IR in Multinational Corporations in Denmark

T2 - Uneasy Bedfellows?

AU - Navrbjerg, Steen Erik

AU - Minbaeva, Dana

PY - 2009

Y1 - 2009

N2 - As multinational corporations operate in multiple countries, headquarters must take into account differences in local settings when seeking the means to coordinate and control subsidiaries. The local system of industrial relations sets the framework for what kind of human resource management a multinational corporation can implement. Yet another question is whether the still stronger multinationals can change the existing systems of industrial relations, directly or indirectly. The paper analyzes four Danish enterprises over a 10-year period. This longitudinal study shows that none of the multinationals directly try to interfere in local industrial relations. However, by exercising their management prerogative in a way that differs from the Northern European tradition of industrial relations, they do influence the cooperation between employers and employees. In particular, the results show, that a shift from a stakeholder to a shareholder management style and an increased degree of HQ control have an effect on the whole cooperative atmosphere in each of the companies. In the long run, they may affect the collective bargaining system as such.

AB - As multinational corporations operate in multiple countries, headquarters must take into account differences in local settings when seeking the means to coordinate and control subsidiaries. The local system of industrial relations sets the framework for what kind of human resource management a multinational corporation can implement. Yet another question is whether the still stronger multinationals can change the existing systems of industrial relations, directly or indirectly. The paper analyzes four Danish enterprises over a 10-year period. This longitudinal study shows that none of the multinationals directly try to interfere in local industrial relations. However, by exercising their management prerogative in a way that differs from the Northern European tradition of industrial relations, they do influence the cooperation between employers and employees. In particular, the results show, that a shift from a stakeholder to a shareholder management style and an increased degree of HQ control have an effect on the whole cooperative atmosphere in each of the companies. In the long run, they may affect the collective bargaining system as such.

KW - Faculty of Social Sciences

KW - Human Resource Management, Industrial Relations, Multinationale Viriksomheder, koordineret markedsøkonomi, liberal markedsøkonom, personalepoltik over grænser

KW - HRM, IR, MNC's, Coordinated Market Economies, Liberal Market Economies

U2 - 10.1080/09585190903087081

DO - 10.1080/09585190903087081

M3 - Journal article

SN - 0958-5192

VL - 20

SP - 1720

EP - 1736

JO - International Journal of Human Resource Management

JF - International Journal of Human Resource Management

IS - 8

ER -