Exit, Voice and ‘Mandate’: Management Strategies and Labour Practices of Japanese Firms in Britain

Abstract

This paper draws on case‐study research on four Japanese transplants in one locality to trace the evolving and unsettled relationship between company policies and labour market conditions. It shows that managements continue to face problems of recruiting and retaining labour in this greenfield and non‐union setting, as worker dissatisfactions are expressed more through ‘exit’ than ‘voice’. It then analyses the variety of ways in which managers have sought to build a ‘mandate’ to manage, and the scope and limits of management hegemony within these workplaces. Finally, it suggests that differences in management policies reflect differences in ownership patterns, corporate histories and roles within intra‐ and inter‐firm divisions of labour.