Professional development and capabilities in multinationals in France and Germany

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Jürgen Kädtler
• Subject Area: Empirical Social Research ; Education Systems and Educational Institutions
• Term: from 2014 to 2018
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 246733118

On the background of economic globalization and its demand for flexibility both for companies as well as for individuals, the project addresses the field of corporate personnel policies (HRM) in corresponding constellations in both France and Germany. The project examines the interplay between HRM-policy, on the one hand, and the protection of the scope of action as well as the opportunities for development of employees, on the other. It will be asked for the relevance of HRM in the corporate environment, how the firm-level is connected to institutions and tools of on-the-job- and further-training inside as well as outside the firm, and how HRM contributes to the development of individual competencies and employability. These research questions are based on an understanding of both competency and employability that builds on the capability-approach and the concept of participation (Teilhabekonzept) within the German tradition of the Lebenslagenansatz. The comparative analysis is concentrated on three key issues of corporate HRM-policy: 1) What is the relation between individual development and career expectations and career options and the perspectives and tools of corporate HRM-policy? 2) How important are claims of workers regarding the quality of work, and under what conditions and procedures do those claims find their way into HRM-policy?3) What is the relationship between workers claims for work-life balance, on the one hand, and the specific corporate working time regimes and the intensification of work, on the other hand?German and French constellations of social action will be related to each other in two perspectives: (1) a comparative and contrasting perspective that focuses on the explanation of differences in dealing with similar problems and/or the diverging perceptions of superficially similar problems, respectively. (2) A perspective of reciprocal reference that is oriented towards the mutual influence in the context of scientific interpretations or practically oriented economic and political discourses, respectively. The project will also contribute to a history of interrelation (histoire croisee) of work in Germany and France. It will be shown how workers and businesses in both countries, either in a different or similar way, address the same requirements and problems. The social and historical embeddedness of the interpretations and categories of action they refer to are also demonstrated. With regard to methodology, three perspectives will be connected with each other: (1) the institutional perspective on the framing of work, (2) the organizational perspective on companies and (3) the individual-biographical perspective.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: France
• Participating Person: Professorin Dr. Bénédicte Zimmermann