Overt Employment Discrimination in MNC Affiliates: Home-country Cultural and Institutional Effects

Citation:

Wu, C., J. J. Lawler and X. Yi. 2008. “Overt Employment Discrimination in MNC Affiliates: Home-country Cultural and Institutional Effects.” Journal of International Business Studies 39 (5): 772-794.

Authors: C. Wu, J. J. Lawler, X. Yi

Abstract:

Using job announcements posted by MNC subsidiaries in Taiwan and Thailand, we investigated the effects of MNC home-country cultural and institutional forces on the use of employment gender and age discriminatory criteria in host countries where anti-discrimination legislation was absent. We examined the cultural effects with composite measures taken from the work of Hofstede and Schwartz. The effects of the existence of anti-age and anti-gender discrimination employment legislation in an MNC home country were also assessed to control for institutional factors. Logit analysis shows that MNC home-country culture and institutional environment can have a strong impact on the use of discriminatory criteria by MNCs in host countries, at least those lacking protective legislation. Specifically, MNCs based in countries that have existing and effective age and gender discrimination laws, and have more individualist and less masculine cultures, are less likely to engage in at least overt gender-based and age-based discrimination.
Keywords: MNC; employment discrimination; age; gender; national culture; institutional forces

Annotation:

Analyzed recruitment ads in Thailand and Taiwan (no regulations in either country at the time of the study), overt gender and age discrimination; Asian-Pacific, North American and European-based companies

Existence of a home-country cultural impact on the likelihood of these types of discrimination by MNC subsidiaries even after controlling for key home-country institutional influences

Topics: Age, Economies, Gender, Masculinity/ies, Gender Balance, Gendered Power Relations, Globalization, Governance, Multi-National Corporations Regions: Asia, East Asia, Southeast Asia Countries: Taiwan, Thailand

Year: 2008

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