The relationship between ceremonial adoption of popular management practices and the motivation for practice adoption and diffusion in an American MNC

1. This article draws on the Irish node of an international study of employment relations and HRM in MNCs, co-ordinated by Professor Anthony Ferner. This study involves a large number of researchers from De Montfort University and King's College, London, UK, the Universities of Trier and Erfurt, Germany, IESE Business School, Spain and the University of Limerick, Ireland where it was led by Professor Paddy Gunnigle. The Irish study is supported by the University of Limerick Research Office, the Irish Research Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences and the Labour Relations Commission.

Abstract

The literature on multinational corporations (MNCs) has assumed that the parent is generally motivated to transfer practices to subsidiary units that will improve subsidiary efficiency or facilitate comparison of subsidiary performance. Based on this assumption, problems with the transfer process have been understood as related to difficulties in balancing local versus global requirements. In this paper, we question this assumption. Using case-study data, we argue that MNCs may transfer management practices aimed at preventing longer-term economic and social losses, and implementation efforts may be low. In such circumstances, ceremonial adoption may be a possible outcome.

Keywords:

• ceremonial adoption
• institutional theory
• internalization and integration
• legitimacy
• MNCs strategy
• practice transfer

Notes

1. This article draws on the Irish node of an international study of employment relations and HRM in MNCs, co-ordinated by Professor Anthony Ferner. This study involves a large number of researchers from De Montfort University and King's College, London, UK, the Universities of Trier and Erfurt, Germany, IESE Business School, Spain and the University of Limerick, Ireland where it was led by Professor Paddy Gunnigle. The Irish study is supported by the University of Limerick Research Office, the Irish Research Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences and the Labour Relations Commission.

2. There was some disagreement among respondents about the origins of this policy. One senior manager claimed that the push to permanent contracts came from the CEO himself; another that corporate displayed some resistance towards this latter change in policy, but ultimately was persuaded in the context of the tightening Irish labour market.