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  • 2022
  • Article
  • Business History

‘American Management’ vs ‘Swiss Labour Peace’. The Closure of the Swiss Firestone Factory in 1978

By: Sabine Pitteloud
  • Format:Print
  • | Pages:18
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Abstract

This article focusses on the closure of the Firestone’s Swiss subsidiary in 1978. It contributes to the existing literature dealing with the ‘nationality’ of multinational companies and the impact of U.S. management style on local capitalist systems. Drawing on a narrative perspective and relying on rich sources from government, labour and trade associations’ archives, the article demonstrates how the ‘nationality’ was subjected to actors’ perceptions and constructed through their discourses. It studies how labour representatives and politicians used the ‘nationality of the company’ as a rhetorical tool to legitimise political actions and institutional change. The analysis also shows Swiss trade associations’ efforts to counteract such narratives and their ability to largely limit state interventionism thanks to their traditionally dominant position.

Keywords

Americanization; Capitalism; Corporate Nationality; Industrial Relations; Multinational; Narratives; Multinational Firms and Management; Nationality; Economic Systems; Labor and Management Relations; Switzerland

Citation

Pitteloud, Sabine. "‘American Management’ vs ‘Swiss Labour Peace’. The Closure of the Swiss Firestone Factory in 1978." Special Issue on International Business, Multi-Nationals, and the Nationality of the Company. Business History 64, no. 9 (2022): 1648–1665.
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More from the Author

    • 2023
    • Business History

    Let's Coordinate! The Reinforcement of a ‘Liberal Bastion’ within European Industrial Federations, 1978-1987

    By: Sabine Pitteloud
    • September 2022
    • Business and Politics

    The Power and Limits of Expertise: Swiss–Swedish Linking of Vehicle Emission Standards in the 1970s and 1980s

    By: Mattias Näsman and Sabine Pitteloud
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    Capitalism and Global Governance in Business History: A Roundtable Discussion

    By: Sabine Pitteloud, Grace Ballor, Patricia Clavin, Nicolás M. Perrone, Neil Rollings and Quinn Slobodian
More from the Author
  • Let's Coordinate! The Reinforcement of a ‘Liberal Bastion’ within European Industrial Federations, 1978-1987 By: Sabine Pitteloud
  • The Power and Limits of Expertise: Swiss–Swedish Linking of Vehicle Emission Standards in the 1970s and 1980s By: Mattias Näsman and Sabine Pitteloud
  • Capitalism and Global Governance in Business History: A Roundtable Discussion By: Sabine Pitteloud, Grace Ballor, Patricia Clavin, Nicolás M. Perrone, Neil Rollings and Quinn Slobodian
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