Unraveling Home and Host Country Effects: An Investigation of the Hr Policies of an American Multinational in Four European Countries

Almond, Philip; Edwards, Tony; Gunnigle, Patrick; Colling, Trevor; Ferner, Anthony; Müller-Camen, Michael; Quintanilla, Javier; Wächter, Hartmut

Unraveling Home and Host Country Effects: An Investigation of the Hr Policies of an American Multinational in Four European Countries

Industrial Relations, Vol. 44, No. 2, pp. 276-306, April 2005

31 Pages Posted: 25 Mar 2005

See all articles by Philip Almond

Philip Almond

De Montfort University - Leicester Business School

Patrick Gunnigle

University of Limerick - Kemmy Business School

Trevor Colling

De Montfort University - Department of Human Resource Management

Michael Müller-Camen

De Montfort University - Leicester Business School

Javier Quintanilla

University of Navarra, IESE Business School

This article argues that the institutional "home" and "host" country effects on employment policy and practice in multinational corporations (MNCs) need to be analyzed within a framework which takes more account both of the multiple levels of embeddedness experienced by the MNC, and processes of negotiation at different levels within the firm. Using in-depth case study analysis of the human resource (HR) structure and industrial relations and pay policies of a large U.S.-owned MNC in the IT sector, across Germany, Ireland, Spain, and the United Kingdom, the article attempts to move towards such a framework.

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

Almond, Philip and Edwards, Tony and Gunnigle, Patrick and Colling, Trevor and Ferner, Anthony and Müller-Camen, Michael and Quintanilla, Javier and Wächter, Hartmut, Unraveling Home and Host Country Effects: An Investigation of the Hr Policies of an American Multinational in Four European Countries. Industrial Relations, Vol. 44, No. 2, pp. 276-306, April 2005. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=684329