International Differences in the Business Practices and Productivity of Firms

In recent years, globalization and the expansion of information technologies have reshaped managerial practices, forcing multinational firms to adjust business practices to different environments and domestic companies to adjust to their foreign competitors. In International Differences in the Business Practices and Productivity of Firms, a distinguished group of contributors examines the phenomenon of widespread differences in managerial practices across firms, establishments within firms, and countries.

This volume brings together eight studies that combine qualitative and quantitative insider analysis of business practices such as the use of teams, incentive pay, lean manufacturing, and quality control, revealing the elements that determine which practices are adopted and why. International Differences in the Business Practices and Productivity of Firms offers a much-needed model for measuring the productivity and performance of international firms in a fast-paced global economy.

Richard B. Freeman holds the Herbert Ascherman Chair in Economics at Harvard University and is currently serving as faculty director of the Labor and Worklife Program at the Harvard Law School. He is director of the Labor Studies Program at the National Bureau of Economic Research.

Kathryn L. Shaw is the Ernest C. Arbuckle Professor of Economics at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business.