The diffusion of multinationals ́ policies and local response: an international comparison of Germany, France and the U.S.A

This paper examines programs conceived and developed at the central headquarters of multinational companies and their implementation process at local sites in different international settings. It first looks at the program content, and then how the program gets translated into measures that are undertaken in selected sites. In a second step, it considers the potential for local response to the demands coming from central headquarters, either through formal systems of employment regulation or through informal, but concerted efforts (Ram et al. 2001).