Globalisation, nationality of ownership and employee relations: German multinationals in the UK

Based on a representative survey of German subsidiaries in the UK, their parent companies and a comparative analysis to the Workplace Employee Relations Survey 1998, the article examines the impact of nationality of ownership on employee relations (ER) in German multinational companies (MNCs) operating in an Anglo-Saxon setting. It also assesses whether in light of heightened international competition and the problems in the German ER model, there has been a weakening of the home country effect over time. The study finds little evidence of a home country effect in relation to ER structures but reveals a pronounced country-of-origin effect in the ER approach and style. There is also evidence that German MNCs have responded to the globalisation pressures of the 1990s by a heightened emphasis on the country-of-origin collective approach in their UK subsidiaries, whilst at the same time developing comprehensive direct human resource management employee involvement schemes to complement, rather than substitute collective ER.