Managing human capital in different institutional contexts: A comparison of the German, Italian and UK automotive industry 2016-2018

Benassi, Chiara (2019). Managing human capital in different institutional contexts: A comparison of the German, Italian and UK automotive industry 2016-2018. [Data Collection]. Colchester, Essex: UK Data Service. 10.5255/UKDA-SN-853668

Global competition, volatile demand, fast-pace innovation and shifting production to cheap locations are challenging the future of the automotive industry in Europe. As the automotive industry has traditionally been a driver of the European economy and a provider of ‘good jobs’, this is a major concern to national governments and European institutions, which have prioritised sustainable economic growth and employment creation since the recent crisis.
In response to these challenges, companies have restructured their workforce, diversifying wages and working conditions along the value chain; they have also invested in technological innovation and transformed the work organisation on the shop floor, where employees are increasingly required to take responsibility for the product quality and to actively engage in problem solving and plant efficiency improvements.
Hence, a skilled workforce has become increasingly crucial for automotive employers, from the assembly line to the Research and Development departments. As such, this project focuses on the two most important Human Resources’ areas for companies in promoting and helping employees to acquire and use the right skills at work: Training and Work Organisation and Design. In these two HR areas, however, public policies and institutions of Industrial Relations and Vocational and Educational Training (VET) crucially affect the ability of companies to pursue and implement their strategic goals. Therefore, this study addresses the question how automotive employers in different national institutional contexts address the same strategic challenges in terms of skill development and use.

The project compares companies’ HR strategies of companies in Germany, Italy and UK. The countries have been chosen because they differ in their institutions of industrial relations and vocational training. While providing a broad overview of companies’ strategies in the areas of training and work design, the fieldwork focused on direct production units including assembly line, maintenance and quality control. Findings are based on desk research about the institutional trajectories of the national VET and Industrial Relations systems; analysis of companies’ reports and internal policy materials, collective agreements, school brochures, minutes of conferences and notes from site visits and from participant observation in employers’, unions’ and training providers’ meetings/events and school open days; around 100 interviews with HR managers, workers’ representatives at workplace, training providers, employers’ chambers and employers’ associations, sectoral union representatives and researchers.
This research contributes to academic debates on how companies respond to similar production and knowledge requirements in different institutional contexts, with varied outcomes for the workforce. Findings will have implications for managers and policy makers because they identify the conditions under which companies are able to develop the skills they need; in addition, comparative evidence will provide unions and practitioners in the field of labour market and social policy with valuable information about the institutions and regulations associated with better workers' outcomes in terms of skill development and job design.

Data description (abstract)

Individual or group semi-structured interviews with around 100 interview partners in Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom including managers, workers, employers’ and workers’ representatives, government officials, policy-makers and school teachers. This study addresses the question how automotive employers in different national institutional contexts address the same strategic challenges in terms of skill development and use.
The project compares companies’ HR strategies of companies in Germany, Italy and UK. The countries have been chosen because they differ in their institutions of industrial relations and vocational training. While providing a broad overview of companies’ strategies in the areas of training and work design, the fieldwork focused on direct production units including assembly line, maintenance and quality control.

Data creators: