The Dynamics of Central Control and Subsidiary Autonomy in the Management of Human Resources: Case-Study Evidence from US MNCS in the UK

Organization Studies

Volumn 25, Issue 3, 2004, Pages 363-391

  Ferner, Anthony ^a   Almond, Phil ^a   Clark, Ian ^a   Colling, Trevor ^a   Edwards, Tony ^b   Holden, Len ^a   Muller Camen, Michael ^c  

^a DE MONTFORT UNIVERSITY   (United Kingdom)

^b KING'S COLLEGE LONDON   (United Kingdom)

^c International University in Germany   (Germany)

Author keywords

Centralization; Human resource management; Power; Subsidiary autonomy; US multinational companies

Indexed keywords

EID: 1842482522     PISSN: 01708406     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1177/0170840604040041     Document Type: Review

References (54)

1. Adler, Nancy, and F. Ghadar 1990 'Strategic human resource management: A global perspective' in Human resource management: an international comparison. R. Pieper (ed.), 235-260. Berlin: De Gruyter.
2. Appelbaum, Eileen, and Rose Batt 1994 The new American workplace. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press.
3. Bartlett, Christopher, and Sumantra Ghoshal 1998 Managing across borders, 2nd edn. [1989] London: Hutchinson.
4. Bird, A., S. Taylor and S. Beechler 1998 'A typology of international human resource management in Japanese multinational corporations: Organizational implications'. Human Resource Management 37/2: 159-172.
5. Birkinshaw, Julian, and N. Fry 1998 'Subsidiary initiatives to develop new markets'. Sloan Management Review, spring, 39/3: 51-62.
6. Bomers, Geert, and R. Peterson 1977 'Multinational corporations and industrial relations: The case of West Germany and the Netherlands'. British Journal of Industrial Relations 15/1: 45-62.
7. Brooke, Michael Z. 1984 Centralization and autonomy. London: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
8. Brooke, Michael Z., and L. Remmers 1970 The strategy of multinational enterprise. London: Longman.
9. Chandler, Alfred 1990 Scale and scope. The dynamics of industrial capitalism. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press.
10. Child, John, David Faulkner, and Robert Pitkethly 2000 'Foreign direct investment in the UK 1985-1994: The impact on domestic management practice'. Journal of Management Studies 37/1: 141-166.
11. Colling, Trevor, and Ian Clark 2002 'Looking for "Americaness": Home-country, sector and firm effects on employment systems in an engineering services company'. European Journal of Industrial Relations 8/3: 301-324.
12. Dowling, Peter, Denice Welch, and Randall Schuler 1999 International human resource management, 3rd edn. Cincinnati, OH: South-Western College.
13. Doz, Yves, and C. Prahalad 1994 'Controlled variety: A challenge for human resource management in the MNC" in Globalizing management. V. Pucik, N. Tichy and C. Barnett (eds), 119-135. New York: Wiley.
14. Dunning, John 1998 American investment in British [1958] manufacturing industry, revised and updated edn. London and New York: Routledge.
15. Edwards, Paul, Anthony Femer, and Keith Sisson 1993 'People and the process of management in the multinational company: A review and some illustrations'. Warwick Papers in Industrial Relations, No. 43. Coventry: IRRU.
16. Edwards, Richard 1979 Contested terrain. The transformation of the workplace in the twentieth century. London: Heinemann.
17. Femer, Anthony 2000a "The embeddedness of US multinational companies in the US business system: Implications for HR/IR'. Occasional Paper No. 61. Leicester: De Montfort University School of Business.
18. Femer, Anthony 2000b 'The underpinnings of "bureaucratic" control systems: HRM in European multinationals'. Journal of Management Studies 37/4: 521-540.
19. Forsgren, Mats 1990 'Managing the international multicentre firm'. European Management Journal 8/2: 261-267.
20. Ghoshal, Sumantra, and Nitin Nohria 1989 'Internal differentiation within multinational corporations'. Strategic Management Journal 10: 323-337.
21. Ghoshal, Sumantra, and Nitin Nohria 1993 'Horses for courses: Organizational forms for multinational corporations'. Sloan Management Review 34/2: 23-36.
22. Guest, David, and Kim Hoque 1996 'National ownership and HR practices in UK greenfield sites'. Human Resource Management Journal 6/4: 50-74.
23. Gunnigle, Patrick 1995 'Collectivism and the management of industrial relations in greenfleld sites'. Human Resource Management Journal 5/3: 24-40.
24. Hamill, Jim 1984 'Labour relations decision making in multinational corporations'. Industrial Relations Journal 15/2: 30-34.
25. Harzing, Anne-Wil 1999 Managing the multinationals: An international study of control mechanisms. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
26. Hedlund, Gunnar 1986 'The hypermodern MNE'. Human Resource Management 25: 9-36.
27. Hofstede, Geert 1980 Culture's consequences. London: Sage.
28. Hollingsworth, John Rogers 1997 'Continuities and changes in social systems of production: The cases of Japan, Germany, and the United States' in Contemporary capitalism. The embeddedness of institutions. J. R. Hollingsworth and R. Boyer (eds), 265-308. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
29. Jacoby, Sanford 1997 Modern manors. Welfare capitalism since the New Deal. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
30. Kochan, Thomas, Harry Katz, and Robert McKersie 1986 The transformation of American industrial relations. Ithaca: ILR/Cornell University Press.
31. Kopp, Rochelle 1994 'International human resource policies and practices in Japanese, European, and United States multinationals'. Human Resource Management 33/4: 581-599.
32. Kujawa, Duane 1979 "The labour relations of United States multinationals abroad: comparative and prospective views '. Labour and Society 4/1: 1-25.
33. Lindholm, N., M. Tahvanainen, and I. Björkman 1999 'Performance appraisal of host country employees: Western MNEs in China' in International HRM: Contemporary issues in Europe. C. Brewster and H. Harris (eds), 143-159. London: Routledge.
34. Marginson, Paul 2000 'The Eurocompany and Euro industrial relations'. European Journal of Industrial Relations 6/1: 9-34.
35. Marginson, Paul, and Keith Sisson 1994 "The structure of transnational capital in Europe: The emerging Euro-company and its implications for industrial relations' in New frontiers in European industrial relations. R. Hyman and A. Ferner (eds), 15-51. Oxford: Blackwell.
36. Martin, Graham, and Phil Beaumont 1999 'Co-ordination and control of human resource management in multinational firms: The case of CASHCO'. International journal of Human Resource Management 10/1: 21-42.
37. Martínez, J., and J-C. Jarillo 1989 "The evolution of research on coordination mechanisms in multinational corporations'. Journal of International Business Studies, fall: 489-514.
38. Mtar, Monia 2001 'French multinationals' international strategy: National identity under the effect of globalisation'. PhD thesis. Coventry: University of Warwick.
39. Negandhi, Anand 1983 'External and internal functioning of American, German, and Japanese multinational corporations: Decisionmaking and policy issues' in Multinational corporations. M. Casson (ed.), 557-577. Aldershot: Edward Elgar.
40. Negandhi, Anand 1986 ' Role and structure of German multinationals: A comparative profile' in European approaches to international management. K. Macharzina and W. Staehle (eds), 51-66. Berlin and New York: Walter de Gruyter.
41. Ngo, H., D. Turban, C. Lau, and S. Lui 1998 'Human resource practices and firm performance of multinational corporations: Influences of country origin'. International journal of Human Resource Management 9/4: 632-652.
42. O'Sullivan, Mary 2000 Contests for corporate control. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
43. Perlmutter, Harry 1969 'The tortuous evolution of the multinational firm'. Columbia Journal of World Business, January-February: 9-18.
44. Quintanilla, Javier 1998 'The configuration of HRM policies in multinational subsidiaries: The case of European retail banks in Spain'. PhD thesis. Coventry: University of Warwick.
45. Roberts, Brian 1972 'Factors influencing the organization and style of management and their effect on the pattern of industrial relations in multi-national corporations' in Transnational industrial relations. H. Günter (ed.), 109-132. London: Macmillan.
46. Rosenzweig, Philip, and Nitin Nohria 1994 'Influences on human resource management practices in multinational corporations'. Journal of International Business Studies 25/2: 229-251.
47. Royle, Tony, editor 2000 Working for McDonald's in Europe. London: Routledge.
48. Tayeb, Monir 1998 'Transfer of HRM policies and practices across cultures: An American company in Scotland". International Journal of Human Resource Management 9/2: 332-358.
49. Tayeb, Monir, and Kathryn Thory 2001 'Americans in Europe: The case of 10 US MNCs and their HRM in Scotland'. Paper presented to the ESRC Conference on Multinational Enterprises: Embedded Organizations, Transnational Federations or Global Learning Communities?, 6-8 September, University of Warwick, Coventry.
50. Taylor, S., S. Beechler, and N. Napier 1996 'Toward an integrative model of strategic international human resource management'. Academy of Management Review 21/4: 959-985.
51. Vitols, Sigurt 2001 'Varieties of corporate governance: Comparing Germany and the UK' in Varieties of capitalism. The institutional foundations of comparative advantage. P. Hall and D. Soskice (eds), 337-360. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
52. Wever, Kirsten 1995 'Human resource management and organizational strategies in German-and US-owned companies'. International Journal of Human Resource Management 6/3: 606-625.
53. Young, S., N. Hood, and J. Hamill 1985 Decision-making in foreign-owned multinational subsidiaries in the United Kingdom. ILO Working Paper No. 35. Geneva: ILO.
54. Yuen, E., and Hui Tak Kee 1993 'Headquarters, host-culture and organizational influences on HRM policies and practices'. Management International Review 33/4: 361-383.