Multinational expansion of worker cooperatives and their employment practices: Markets, institutions, and politics in Mondragon
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ILR Review 72(3) : 580-605 (2019)
Resumen
Drawing on qualitative research and longitudinal data on two
Mondragon multinational cooperatives, the authors examine the
multinational expansion of these co-ops and the diffusion of the
cooperative model’s employment practices to their subsidiaries in
Brazil, China, Slovakia, France, and Poland. The results show that
international expansion can radically transform the organizational
architecture of co-ops and exacerbate dilemmas about how to put
their hallmark values into practice. Moreover, the findings reveal a
fragmented and inconsistent introduction of the cooperative model
overseas. Work organization practices are homogeneous across the
various sites, whereas job security, training, and pay equity practices
are not. Core cooperative practices (i.e., employee participation in
ownership, profit sharing, and general management) have not been
implemented in any foreign operation. The study illustrates how
market influences, institutions, and macro- and micro-politics shape
the transfer of employment practices.