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Re-introducing the company in the analysis of labour market dualisation: Variety of patterns and diversity of outcomes between standard and non-standard workers in multinational subsidiaries in Belgium, Germany and Britain

Author

Listed:
  • Valeria Pulignano

    (Centre for Sociological Research, KU Leuven, Belgium)

  • Nadja Doerflinger

    (Centre for Sociological Research, KU Leuven, Belgium)

  • Maarten Keune

    (Institute for Advanced Labour Studies, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands)

Abstract

This article re-introduces the company in the analysis of labour market dualisation by studying local actors’ (i.e. management and employee representatives) strategies as embedded in organisational and institutional contexts. Building on 12 case studies of multinational corporation (hereinafter MNC) subsidiaries in Belgium, Germany and Britain, the authors illustrate how organisational and institutional legacies influence (but do not determine) local actors’ strategic arrangements regarding the working conditions of standard (insider) and non-standard (outsider) workers. The outcomes resulting from these local (negotiated) arrangements illustrate a variety of inequality patterns, rather than any single pattern. The study distinguishes between convergence , where differences in working conditions between the different groups of workers decrease as the result of reduced standards for the better-off group, and divergence , where these differences increase.

Suggested Citation

  • Valeria Pulignano & Nadja Doerflinger & Maarten Keune, 2020. "Re-introducing the company in the analysis of labour market dualisation: Variety of patterns and diversity of outcomes between standard and non-standard workers in multinational subsidiaries in Belgium, Germany and Britain," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 41(3), pages 586-609, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ecoind:v:41:y:2020:i:3:p:586-609
    DOI: 10.1177/0143831X17731610
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    References listed on IDEAS

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