The employment practices

This is the first survey on employment practices within multinational firms (MNCs) in Belgium. It is based on a representative sample which covers both Belgian-owned and foreign-owned MNCs. The analysis is based on 194 face-to-face interviews with senior HR managers responsible for the Belgian operations of MNCs.

For HR managers this survey is a tool to benchmark the own HR policies with other MNCs. The survey reports on four HR domains: pay and performance, training and organisational learning, employee involvement and communication and employee representation. For each HR domain, HR managers can compare the presence of tools (i.e. variable pay, training programs, teams) and the discretion of  Belgian subsidiaries.

Additionally, this book  is of high interest for both academics and policy makers. It contains original and unique data concurring both to delineate the firm profile (i.e. country of origin, size, sector, structure) and examining the factors shaping decisions-making within MNCs in Belgium. Overall this book remarkably addresses the knowledge deficit around the study of the employment relations and human resource management within MNCs in Belgium to date.  

Valeria Pulignano is Professor of Labour Sociology and Industrial Relations at the Centre for Sociological Research (CESO) at the University of Leuven. She is Associate Fellow at Warwick University, core researcher at the University of Montréal. She is co-author of Flexibility at Work and of The Transformation of Employment Relations in Europe. Institutions and Outcomes in the Age of Globalisation.

Vickie Dekocker is a PhD candidate and teaching assistant at the Centre for Sociological Research (CESO) at the University of Leuven. In her PhD, she focuses on employment practices within multinational companies in Belgium. Specifically, she studies the way the sub national level (regional government, joint committees and inter firm relations) shape these employment practices.