Employment relations in German multinational companies in the UK and the future of the German model: Empirical evidence on country-of-origin effects and industry internationalisation

Interest has grown in the significance of the country-of-origin impact on the Employment Relations (ER) approaches in the international subsidiaries of Multinational Companies (MNCs). In this article, a comparative cross-sectional analysis of German subsidiaries with indigenous UK firms will be provided. The central issues concern the extent to which German MNCs in deregulated Anglo-American industrial relations settings draw on the German ER model, adjust to the host-country context or adopt current 'best practice' prescriptions frequently associated with leading US MNCs. Here, the key questions are: How and to what extent do different industry-specific forces interrelate with country-of-origin effects and pressures to adopt 'best practice' approaches to shape subsidiary ER outcomes?. Copyright © 2010 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.