Actors' Interests and Local Contexts in Intrafirm Conflict: The 2004 GM and Opel Crisis
Author: Blazejewski, Susanne1
Source: Competition and Change, Volume 13, Number 3, September 2009 , pp. 229-250(22)
Publisher: Maney Publishing
Abstract:
Research on industrial relations in MNCs remains limited to aggregate concepts and dominant actor groups. Focusing on a case study of the 2004 wildcat strike at GM Bochum, Germany, this paper argues for the inclusion of genuinely local, micro-level perspectives and marginalised actors. It makes use of an extended framework of actor embeddedness, which introduces interests and situations as core variables. The case analysis shows how diverging interests of Opel shop stewards, workers and works council members led to a multiplication of conflict lines and the development of competing rationalities within the workforce.Keywords: INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS; MNC; CONFLICT; INTERESTS; CONTEXTUAL CONSTITUTION
Document Type: Research article
DOI: 10.1179/102452909X451350
Affiliations: 1: European University Viadrina, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Frankfurt / Oder;, Email: blazejewski@euv-frankfurt-o.de

Click here for Page Help