Building Anticipation of Restructuring in Europe: (65 Travail et Société / Work and Society)

This book presents a new and stimulating analysis of restructuring by developing a European perspective. Developing the capacity to anticipate change is a complex dynamic, involving the global strategies of firms, and the capacity of the actors at enterprise and territorial levels. The book provides a clear analysis of the capacity of the actors, through different models of industrial relations and corporate governance, to intervene in the process of restructuring. It identifies the conditions of anticipation and the need to better articulate European policies. The research also shows the need to adopt a multilevel and multiplayer approach in order to adapt to the new strategies of the firms. The multidisciplinary approach of the research underlines different perspectives: the political challenges of the European Union, the legal and social implications related to the employees’ representatives, trade unions and European works councils, and the sociological dimension in the process of restructuring and of anticipation. The aim is to develop a multilevel and multiactor analysis and to propose guidelines for actions at European level.

Table of Contents:
Contents: Marie-Ange Moreau/Serafino Negrelli/Philippe Pochet: Introduction. Towards a New Approach to Restructurings in Europe – Eskil Ekstedt: A New Division of Labour. The «Projectification» of Working and Industrial Life – Niklas Arvidsson: Multinational Strategies and Implications for Employee Representatives. The Learning Partner Approach – Rienk Goodijk: Corporate Governance, Labour Management and Industrial Relations. A Theoretical Paper on Structures of Corporate Governance, Management Decision-making and Actors’ Dynamics – Willem Allertz: Cross-border Organisation Development and its Consequences for Industrial Relations. A Business Approach to Globalising Businesses and the Involvement of National Stakeholders – Serafino Negrelli/Angelo Piechierri: Anticipation and Governance of Restructuring – Guido Boni: Corporate Restructuring and Employment Protection. Towards a New Territorial Social Dialogue? – Marie-Ange Moreau/Jean-Jacques Paris: The Role of the European Works Councils during Restructurings. The Lessons of the AgirE Project – Federica Casarosa: The Role of Information and Communication Technologies in the Strategies of Networks of Firms – Barbara Gabor: The Impact of Fiscal Policies on Restructurings within the EU – Bjorn Lundqvist: How Research and Development Cooperation is Dealt with under EC Competition Law and its Implication on the Restructuring of Firms – Catherine Spieser: EU Regional Policy, Structural Funds and Large-scale Restructuring. To What Extent and How Do Structural Funds Help Manage Socio-economic Change? – Sonja Bekker/Heejung Chung: Restructuring Organisations while Striving for Flexicurity. Connecting the European Level to National Contexts – Philippe Pochet: What Public Policies Should Accompany Restructuring? Building Adaptability Mechanisms in the European Union – Ivana Pais: STMicroelectronics Restructuring in Agrate Brianza. A Local Game within a Global Player – Valentina Pacetti: Fiat Auto Restructuring in Mirafiori. Local Strategies for Global Players – Marco Castellani: Strategies of Restructuring and Anticipation within Industrial Districts. The Case of Sabaf Group – Conclusion: Synthetic Report of the AgirE Project Final Report.

About the Author :
The Editors: Marie-Ange Moreau is Professor at the Law Department (European Social Law Chair) of the European University Institute (Florence) and Professeure agregee from the University Paul Cezanne (Aix-Marseille, France). She is a founding member of the CRIMT (Centre de recherche interuniversitaire sur la mondialisation et le travail, Montreal). Her research and publications focus on the interactions between globalisation and labour law, especially in their European and international dimensions. She was the scientific coordinator of the project AgirE on Restructurings in Europe. She is the author of Normes sociales, droit du travail et mondialisation (2006). Serafino Negrelli is Professor of Sociology of Work and Economic Processes at the University of Milano Bicocca. He has been involved in many international research projects analysing the social consequences of globalisation. Recent publications include: "The territorial pacts in Italy: the competitive corporatism assumption in question", in R. Salais, R. Villeneuve (eds.), Europe and the Politics of Capabilities (2004); "Change in contemporary Italy's social concertation" (with Valeria Pulignano), in Industrial Relations Journal (Vol. 39, 1, 2008); Sociologia del lavoro (2009, 3rd edition). Philippe Pochet is the former Director of the Observatoire social europeen, and since March 2008 General Director of the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI). He teaches at the Catholic University of Louvain, is the author of a large number of publications on European policies and European governance, and is member of the CRIMT (Centre de recherche interuniversitaire sur la mondialisation et le travail).