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Recent years have witnessed a rapid growth in mergers and acquisitions between companies based in different countries. Estimates suggest that the value of cross-border mergers and acquisitions amounted to $342 billion in 1997, a fourfold increase in six years, For employees and their representatives three distinct effects of this international merger activity can be identified: first, a general 'acquisition' effect which is common to all mergers, not just those that are cross-border in nature; second, a 'multinational' effect in which mergers increase the extent to which the acquired operations are subject to international competition; and, third, a 'nationality' effect which arises from differences by country in the way that firms are governed and financed. The nationality effect is the subject of this paper. It is argued that takeovers by Anglo-Saxon multinationals pose significant challenges to employees and their representatives, primarily because the system of corporate governance in Anglo-Saxon countries pressurises management into a 'cost-minimisation' approach to managing labour. This Anglo-Saxon aspect of the nationality effect is likely to be widespread, mainly because most international acquisitions are undertaken by Anglo-Saxon multinationals but also because the purchase of firms in Britain and America is a key mechanism through which European multinationals are undergoing a process of 'Anglo-Saxonisation'.

In den vergangenen Jahren ist sowohl die Zahl der Unternehmensfusionen als auch die der Unternehmenskäufe rapide angestiegen. Schätzungen zufolge betrug der Wert grenzübergreifender Fusionen und Unternehmenskäufe im Jahr 1997 342 Milliarden US-Dollar, was einer Vervierfachung des Werts in einem Zeitraum von 6 Jahren gleichkommt. Dabei lassen sich bei diesen Fusionen international drei unterschiedliche Auswirkungen auf die Arbeitnehmer und ihre Vertretungen feststellen: Erstens, ein allgemeiner "Kaufimpuls", der für alle Fusionen gilt, nicht nur für grenzübergreifende Fusionen; zweitens, ein "multinationaler Effekt", d.h. daß sich durch Fusionen der Wettbewerbsdruck, dem die erworbenen Unternehmen innerhalb des internationalen Markts ausgesetzt sind, erhöht; und drittens, ein "Nationalitäts-Effekt", der sich aus Unterschieden im Unternehmensmanagement und der Finanzierung zwischen verschiedenen Ländern ergibt. Im Mittelpunkt dieses Beitrags steht der "Nationalitäts-Effekt". Der Verfasser vertritt die These, daß die Übernahme von Unternehmen durch angelsächsische multinationale Unternehmen eine erhebliche Herausforderung für die Beschäftigten und ihre Vertreter darstellt. Dies erklärt sich vor allem aus der Tatsache, daß in angelsächsischen Ländern die Unternehmensleitung durch ein System unter Druck gesetzt wird, das "Kostenminimalisierung" in bezug auf die Arbeitnehmerschaft durchzusetzen sucht. Dieser angelsächsische Aspekt des "Nationalitäts-Effekts" ist, wie es scheint, weit verbreitet, nicht nur, weil die überwiegende Zahl der Unternehmenserwerbungen von angelsächsischen multinationalen Unternehmen getätigt wird, sondern auch, weil in Großbritannien und den USA der Kauf von Unternehmen als Schlüsselmechanismus gilt, durch den europäische multinationale Unternehmen einen hierauf ausgerichteten Prozeß durchlaufen. (Transfer / FUB)

Introduction / Tony Edwards and Chris Rees -- The context for international HRM -- Globalization, national systems and multinational companies / Chris Rees and Tony Edwards -- National employment systems and international HRM / Phil Almond -- The European Union : a case of advanced regional integration / Michael Gold -- The management of international HRM -- International structure and strategy / Tony Edwards and Chris Rees -- Global integration / Adam Smale -- The transfer of HR practices in MNCs / Tony Edwards, Chris Rees and Miao Zhang -- Cross-border mergers and acquisitions / Tony Edwards and Chris Rees -- Outsourcing and human resource management / Virginia Doellgast and Howard Gospel -- International leadership development / Nabil El Gazzar and David G. Collings -- Recruitment and selection of international managers / Fiona Moore -- International pay and compensation / Chin-Ju Tsai -- International and comparative employee voice / Enda Hannon -- International corporate social responsibility / Lutz Preuss -- International migration and HRM / Stephen Bach -- Index

ABSTRACTManuscript Type: ConceptualResearch Question/Issue: In this paper we address two research questions. First, to what extent has Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) developed unevenly across countries with different corporate governance systems and how might we explain this? Second, what consequences does its uneven development have for human resource management (HRM)?Research Findings/Insights: We map the nature and extent of SRI equities across five industrialized countries – Germany, Japan, the UK, the US and Australia. We find that differences between the institutional, corporate governance and cultural characteristics of national business systems explain variations in the size and significance of SRI across countries. We also find that SRI has an impact on HRM in institutional contexts such as where its influence is complemented by strong employee voice institutions.Theoretical/Academic Implications: The notion of "institutional complementarities," within and across spheres of a corporate governance system is a useful theoretical lens for understanding the varied impact of SRI across different corporate governance systems. Further, future studies of HRM will need to consider the heterodox pressures produced by SRI that may influence its conduct.Practitioner/Policy Implications: Implications for SRI fund managers are considered, especially how they might use the notion of institutional complementarities to help in their investment decisions and in the impact they can exert. Specifically SRI funds are likely to be more effective where they can form alliances with other existing bodies or where they spur the development of such bodies. The implications for other actors in HRM and corporate governance are also considered.