Subsidiary autonomy over industrial relations in Ireland and Spain

Abstract

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This article uses two parallel large-scale surveys in Ireland and Spain to test explanations of the variation in the autonomy of foreign subsidiaries of multinational companies over industrial relations policies, in particular regarding trade union engagement and employee consultation. We bring together three strands of literature: home- and host-country effects, organizational context and international human resources structures. Our results call attention to the significance of institutional effects, along with mode of entry of the subsidiary and the trajectory of new investments.