18 The Eurocompany and European
Works Councils
Paul Marginson1 Introduction 457
2 The Eurocompany differentiated from wider, global developments 459
3 European company characteristics which transcend national borders 462
4 Europe as a distinct social space 466
5 The case of European Works Councils 468
6 Conclusions 475
7 Discussion questions 477
8 Further reading 477
Acknowledgement 478
References 478
1 INTRODUCTION
In the face of the internationalization of markets and production, many
commentators argue that multinational companies (MNCs) are becoming increas-
ingly ‘global’ in nature. Conversely, the specificities of national markets and pro-
duction regimes, according to which international companies were previously
constrained to organize their activities, are seen to be of diminishing salience.
This has led some to conclude that MNCs are increasingly ‘stateless’ organiza-
tions, detached from the institutional structures, practices and customs of the