Heinz Tüselmann

The German model of industrial relations at the crossroads: past, present and future

This article examines the pressures for reform in the German model of industrial relations, with particular emphasis on the sectoral bargaining system. It assesses if, how and to what extent the German model with its proven track record should be reformed. The article advocates a reform path within the parameters of the excisting system in order to strike subtle balance between stability and change.

Can variation in public policies account for differences in comparative advantage

This article seeks light on the main claim of the Varieties of Capitalism (VoC) framework that public policies can help to shape comparative advantage, and, to complement existing assessments that have relied predominantly on qualitative data from a few economic sectors. It examines the distribution of export success in a number of economic sectors, in which competitiveness is characterized by either radical or incremental innovation. Unlike previous studies, it does this across all those OECD countries clearly identified in the VoC literature as either liberal market economies, co-ordinated market economies or unclassified. Moreover, it draws on the latest available data at the lowest level of aggregation. In contrast to previous studies, a more appropriate measure of trade specialization, revealed symmetric comparative advantage, is used. Overall, the evidence supports the VoC framework; however, in some sectors, the data raise important conceptual and methodological issues overlooked in current research.

Investigating the Social Capital and Resource Acquisition of Entrepreneurs Residing in Deprived Areas of England

Enterprise policy in England has focused extensively on funding and training aspiring entrepreneurs residing in deprived areas. These policy initiatives have been directed at increasing the capabilities of entrepreneurs residing in deprived areas without knowing about their social capital and access to resources. This study is based on a survey of entrepreneurs that have completed the New Entrepreneurship Scholarship training programme across the nine regions of England. The findings suggest that social capital helps explain the acquisition of resources entrepreneurs residing in deprived areas need to develop a new venture. However, there seems to be an overreliance on bonding ties for resource acquisition. Too much bonding can lead to redundant resources and ‘getting by’ and may limit growth. In light of these findings several recommendations are developed for the coalition governments Local Enterprise Partnerships policy and the future funding of entrepreneurship initiatives in deprived areas.

Cautious international entrepreneurs: the case of the Mittelstand

This paper investigates the international entrepreneurial behaviour of Mittelstand firms (German small and medium sized enterprises). Analysis of a survey of the international marketing strategies of Mittelstand firms revealed three clusters of firms, two that had below and one above average international activities. None of the clusters displayed ‘born global’ type of internationalisation processes. However, this does not mean that they adopt passive approaches to internationalisation. The results suggest that Mittelstand firms engage in entrepreneurial behaviour that is proactive and innovative but which is cautious, sequential, and risk adverse. The implications of this analysis for future research in the area of international entrepreneurship are considered.

Domestic Sourcing by Foreign-Owned Subsidiaries

This paper investigates the development of domestic sourcing by foreign-owned subsidiaries (FOS) in the UK. The regional development and international-business literatures are used to develop a conceptual framework on the links between autonomy, the use of networks, and domestic sourcing. Data from a survey of German, French, and US FOS in the UK is used to test the model. The results indicate that increased use of networks and increased operational decision-making autonomy are associated with increased domestic sourcing, but that only a minority of FOS are increasing their use of domestic sourcing. The growing importance of global sourcing is considered as a possible explanation for the low proportion of FOS that are increasing their use of domestic sourcing. The implications for regional-development policy of the findings are also assessed.

Employment in host regions and foreign direct investment

This paper examines the relationship between foreign direct investment inflows and employment using international business strategy literature to identify the factors influencing the development of subsidiaries that might affect employment growth in host regions. A survey of German subsidiaries in North West England is used to test the significance of the variables that are identified as likely to affect employment. The results of logit regression indicate that entry mode, technology transfer, and firm age affect the growth of employment. The study also highlights that other factors, such as sector, organisational structure, the level of diversification of operations by subsidiaries in the local economy, and range of markets supplied may have important affects on employment. The research indicates that further conceptual and empirical work is required to clarify our understanding of how the organisational, operational, and diversification characteristics of subsidiaries affect employment.

Foreign direct investment and employment in host regions

Investigates the role of direct foreign investment (DFI) in promoting employment in host regions in the European Union (EU). A theoretical framework is developed which suggests that the initial impact of DFI on employment is likely to be small and mainly linked to the creation of low skilled jobs with the loss of employment in host economies due to the displacement of domestic output by increased exports from the parent companies of subsidiaries. However, in the longer term, DFI flows should diversify the operations of subsidiaries thereby inducing a change in the pattern of jobs in host regions. The framework is assessed using evidence from a survey of German subsidiaries in north‐west England. Concludes with some policy implications and a future research agenda to expand and develop knowledge in this area.

Entrepreneurship, occupational division and social capital differentials

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to demonstrate how occupational division impacts on social capital and access to resources that may have a bearing on the growth potential and success of a new venture.Design/methodology/approach – This study compares the social capital profiles of early‐stage entrepreneurs in England with distinct occupational classifications – i.e. entrepreneurs who were completing training on the Science and Enterprise Challenge (SEC) initiative and pursuing professional and higher technician businesses, and entrepreneurs who were completing training on the New Entrepreneurship Scholarship (NES) initiative and who were residing in deprived areas, unemployed or underemployed and pursuing non‐professional businesses. The European Socio‐economic Classification (ESeC) was adopted to classify occupation. The entrepreneurs completed aided name generator questionnaires and in‐depth interviews.Findings – The findings demonstrate that professional and higher technician entrepreneurs have h...

The Development of Pan-European Industrial Structures and the Strategic Development of Subsidiaries

The integration programmes of the European Union (EU), such as the Single Market and European Monetary Union programmes, have reduced the trading costs of engaging in intra-EU trade. These developments have provided incentives to rationalize production and distribution systems so as to reap economies of scale and develop markets. The integration programmes are also inducing changes to industrial structures, with nationally based structures being broken down and replaced by pan-EU systems, albeit with significant variations according to industry and member state (European Commission, 1996; Dunning, 1997). Geographical concentration is most pronounced in industries that have strong economies of scale, and these industries tend to be located near to large markets (Brulhart, 1996a, Amiti, 1998). However geographical concentration is not as pronounced in Europe as it is in the US (BrAƒAE’A†’Aƒâ€sA‚¼lhart, 1996b). The operations of MNCs are crucial to the process of industrial restructuring as their DFI flows, both extra- and intra-EU, play a vital role in the creation and evolution of EU industrial structures.

Regional Motives for Post-Entry Subsidiary Development: The Case of Poland

The issue of location-specific factors of a multinational company???s activities has long been investigated by international business scholars. To our knowledge, however, all these studies have put attention on the pre-entry location decision of foreign subsidiaries, rather than the post-entry decision. As such, by incorporating a regional perspective into the study of a subsidiary???s development this work offers an understanding of the importance of location-specific factors for the post-entry development of a multinational company???s subsidiaries at the regional level. The empirical analysis, used in this work, utilises a discrete-choice model with primary data from an online survey of 91 foreign-owned subsidiaries in Poland. The results demonstrate that the Mazowieckie region is the most attractive location for post-entry subsidiary development if knowledge-seeking factors are important to MNCs. Further, the findings indicate that South-East and South-West regions are more favoured for post-entry subsidiary development when efficiency-seeking factors are important to multinational companies. The findings also show that none of the examined regions are significant for the post-entry subsidiary???s development if agglomerations factors and infrastructure are important to multinational companies.