National Industrial Relations Systems and Cross-border Restructuring: Evidence from a Merger in the Pharmaceuticals Sector

Abstract

■ This article examines the restructuring process following a cross-border merger in the pharmaceuticals sector. We show how national industrial relations systems account for some aspects of cross-national differences in the process and outcomes of restructuring. However, we also argue that institutionalist approaches to comparative analysis must be complemented by a focus on the material interests of organizational actors and the resources that they can deploy.

Management strategy and HR in international mergers: choice, constraint and pragmatism

“…Other evidence demonstrates how the institutions of host countries act as constraints on management's ability to pursue a common approach to HR following a cross‐border merger. One illustration is Edwards et al. 's (2006) analysis of a pharmaceuticals company, which revealed the way that management was constrained in implementing some common policies across their acquired operations, such as individualised performance‐related pay, and also showed that the consequences of the job regrading process in the post‐merger period differed across sites in a way that reflected national institutions.…”

Employment Relations in Europe

“…Developments in co-ordinated collective bargaining in historically wellorganised industries such as metalworking, and in consultation through European Works Councils between unions and employers' associations has been an element in developing (West) European employment relations since 1995 (Arrowsmith and Marginson, 2006;Edwards et al, 2006;Léonard 2008). Ukraine's East, the home of its heavy industry and much of its trade unionism.…”

The Role of Leadership in Mergers and Acquisitions: A Review of Recent Empirical Studies

“…These studies emphasized the importance of considering how the interests of different parties influenced the M&A integration process. For instance, managers tried to use their power to counteract host-country pressures (Edwards, Coller, Ortiz, Rees, & Wortmann, 2006). However, managers also needed to take different stakeholders' interests into account when negotiating the post-M&A restructuring process (Rees & Edwards, 2009).…”