Varieties and variability of employee relations approaches in US subsidiaries: Country-of-origin effects and the level and type of industry internationalisation
Tüselmann, H-J. Allen, M. Barrett, S. McDonald, Frank
Tüselmann, H-J.
Allen, M.
Barrett, S.
McDonald, Frank
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2008-09
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Abstract
This article investigates the relative importance and variability of the country-of-origin effect
in employee relations approaches of US subsidiaries within the context of diversity of
employee relations patterns in home- and host-country business systems and the influence
of important industry forces. It is based on a representative survey of US subsidiaries and
indigenous firms in the UK. The cross-sectional comparison with indigenous UK firms
confirmed a distinct US country-of-origin imprint in employee relations patterns in US
subsidiaries. However, the magnitude of such an effect cautions against assumptions of
popular stereotypes and reflects, inter alia, the diversity of employee relations approaches
among US parent companies as well as developments in the UK industrial relations landscape
over the last decades. The intra-US analysis revealed the importance of both the level and type
of industry internationalisation in shaping the strength and nature of the country-of-origin
influence. On the basis of the findings, the article highlights lessons to be learned for the study
of cross-border policy-transfer issues in MNCs.
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Tüselmann, H.J., Allen, M.C., Barrett, S. and McDonald, F. (2008). Varieties and variability of employee relations approaches in US subsidiaries. The International Journal of Human Resource Management. Vol. 19, No. 9, pp. 1622-1635.
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