We say no toLa Monroeclosure! local defiance to global restructuring in a transnational company

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to examine the reaction of a local workforce to global restructuring in a transnational company (TNC), which entailed the closure of a manufacturing plant (La Monroe) in Northern Spain. The article explores the micro-political nature of the corporate decision to close the plant, the workforce reaction to relocation and the discourse legitimizing global restructuring. It also delves into the contra-hegemonic potential of labour as a main stakeholder in TNCs. Design/methodology/approach The methodological approach is qualitative. The article presents a theoretically informed and analytical case study based on the literature on micro-politics and power relations in TNCs. Fieldwork is based on semi-structured interviews carried out with relevant stakeholders and other external actors to the TNC. Findings The findings substantiate the dynamic role of micro-politics within TNCs. The article presents and discusses evidence of the formation of a broad multi-level political network of resistance to a plant closure plan. Research limitations/implications More case study analysis would further support the findings in the paper and provide for a comparative approach. Originality/value The article substantiates the dynamic role of micro-politics and power relations in the reification of social norms and discourses on production relocation. It offers an empirical appraisal of the micro-political approach to global restructuring in TNCs. The article also puts labour strategies at the forefront of the analysis in corporate relocation.

Internal legitimacy crises: the roles of the regulatory focus and relational social capital of headquarters and subsidiaries

“…Furthermore, according to Blazejewski (2012), subsidiary managers’ ability to have a “dual identity” and shift between promotion- and prevention-based reactions to headquarters’ initiatives depending on the situation can either decrease or intensify and redirect the lines of conflict. Consequently, future studies of conflict and legitimacy should focus on managers and employees, and their power in relation to the strategic development of the MNE (Köhler and Begega, 2018). In this regard, Higgins’ (1998) theory on regulatory foci can be further investigated from a “hierarchical point of view” – that is, through the perspectives of the headquarters and the subsidiaries.…”