Skip navigation

Identity work: sustaining transnational collective action at General Motors Europe

Identity work: sustaining transnational collective action at General Motors Europe

Greer, Ian and Hauptmeier, Marco (2012) Identity work: sustaining transnational collective action at General Motors Europe. Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, 51 (2). pp. 275-299. ISSN 0019-8676 (Print), 1468-232X (Online) (doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-232X.2012.00677.x)

[img] PDF
greer_hauptmeier_IR_2011.pdf - Accepted Version
Restricted to Repository staff only

Download (187kB)

Abstract

What are the conditions under which transnational collective action is initiated and sustained? This article presents a case study of General Motors Europe, where labor leaders have mobilized the workforce and bargained with management at the transnational level repeatedly over more than a decade as a response to management whipsawing and threats of plant closures. In contrast to structuralist interest-based theories of union behavior, we identify a process of “identity work” that was necessary to sustain transnational worker cooperation.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: labor transnationalism, automotive industry, trade unionism
Subjects: H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > HD28 Management. Industrial Management
Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group: Faculty of Business > Department of Human Resources & Organisational Behaviour
Faculty of Business > Centre for Work and Employment Research (CREW) > Work & Employment Research Unit (WERU)
Related URLs:
Last Modified: 14 Oct 2016 09:20
URI: http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/8066

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item

Downloads

Downloads per month over past year

View more statistics