GLOBALISATION AND VARIETIES OF EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS: AN INTERNATIONAL STUDY OF THE AUTOMOTIVE ASSEMBLY INDUSTRY

Abstract

This paper reports preliminary findings of a study of employment relations in the automotive assembly industry in seven countries. It provides evidence that the impact of globalisation on employment relations varies systematically across liberal, co-ordinated and, to a lesser extent, Asian market economies. It also provides evidence of considerable diversity within varieties of capitalism. This within-variety diversity suggests that while they are important, national institutional arrangements are not fully determinate and that the agency of managers and workers influences how individual companies in the auto-assembly respond to the challenges posed by globalisation. The study also provides evidence of diffusion of employment relations practices across multinational companies in the industry.