Employee involvement in multinational corporations – A European perspective

Abstract

As a consequence of intensifying cross-border M&A activity, many multinational corporations today display the size and turn over that used to be computed for entire industries within national bounds. The analys is of three models of employee relations identified in Europe, however, shows that employee involvement in multinational corporations is nowhere at the centre yet, but plays a secondary part in a business environment shaped by macroeconomic, industry- or company-level agreements. Through a vertical upward shift of power from national to European decision-making and a horizontal shift to more flexible corporate-level solutions, harmonisation is found to be an evident process in Europe. It evolves around the information and consultation of employees, a key element in all business cultures across Europe.