Numerous studies have demonstrated the existence of the country-of-origin effect and how this effect interacts with other factors in shaping multinational corporations' (MNCs') practices. However, there has been little investigation of different forms of country-of-origin effect, the mechanisms through which this effect occurs, or country-of-origin effect on MNCs from emerging markets. This study explores how country-of-origin effect manifests in Chinese MNCs' preparation for managing host country labor relations, an important area of human resource management (HRM). Based on a study of 21 Chinese MNCs, we argue that country-of-origin effect in relation to Chinese MNCs mainly manifests in two implicit forms, including transfer of managementethos and competitive disadvantage generated from the home base, rather than in the form of direct practice transfer as commonly suggested in the current literature. The major mechanism through which country-of-origin effect plays out is the mind-set of managers, rather than formally established corporate control instruments.
Prior to 2011 the China Enterprise Confederation (CEC) was the only employer association recognized by China's government. Drawing on interviews with staff from employer associations, employers and state officials, this study clarifies the role of Chinese employer associations, with the focus being on the CEC. The study finds that the Confederation is a quasi-state agency that undertakes many of the activities conducted by employer associations in developed economies. It also finds that the demise of the CEC's monopolization of employer representation can be attributed to its inability to act as an agent of countervailing power and its inability to sustain a complementary relationship with the social partners that are suited to the newly emergent employment relationship being constructed in China.
This paper explores Chinese multinational corporations' responses to trade unions in host countries. Using an in-depth case study analysis of the policies on union representation and union-management relations in six Chinese multinational corporations, this paper demonstrates that Chinese multinational corporations' responses to host country unions are primarily shaped by home and host institutions, rational choices of firms, and organizational learning. It concludes that while rational choice and institutional theory, the two dominant lenses used in existing literature, are helpful in understanding the industrial relations practices in multinational corporations, they need to be supplemented with an organizational learning perspective in an analysis of industrial relation practices in multinational corporations from emerging markets.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.