Transnational transfer of lean production to a dependent market economy: The case of a French-owned subsidiary in Romania

Zoltán Mihály

European Journal of Industrial Relations, 2021, vol. 27, issue 4, 405-423

Abstract: This article addresses the implementation of lean production techniques in the Romanian subsidiary of a second-tier automotive supplier. Given the liberal institutional environment of the host country, the company anticipated a smooth transfer of lean production practices. However, the findings show that a host country’s economic dependence can be detrimental to the transfer of practices from the home country. The combination of low-complexity production and work intensification led to depressed employee motivation and frequent conflicts. These can be attributed to a mismatch between work organization and national economic profile, which suggests incompatibility between low-wage, low-complexity strategies and Japanese organizational models.

Keywords: Automotive industry; dependent economies; lean production; Romania; transfer; FDI; transfer of practices (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:eurjou:v:27:y:2021:i:4:p:405-423

DOI: 10.1177/0959680120986781

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