Chinese investment in Central and Eastern Europe: Studying the evolution of industrial relations after the takeover of a Slovenian company
研究中国国企收购斯洛文尼亚家电企业后，市场因素、制度环境、工会力量和中国国家角色如何共同影响公司层面劳资关系的演变，挑战了市场主导的解释模型。
The article studies the approach Chinese investors apply to industrial relations at the company level in Central and Eastern Europe. The takeover of a home appliances producer in Slovenia by a Chinese state-owned enterprise and the trajectory of company-level industrial relations are analysed. Adopting a political economy approach, we examine the role played by market-related factors (especially FDI motivation), institutional context, trade union power resources and the Chinese state as an investor. The study contributes in two ways. First, it shows the inadequacy of market-based explanations as host institutions and actors modify transfer outcomes, blurring the ideal types, such as the ‘latecomer’ model and its apparent CEE counterpart. Second, the strategic interests of Chinese SOEs may unwillingly empower local actors struggling to influence transfer outcomes.