MNC's seeking legitimacy: Evidence from the downstream UK oil industry

Abstract

We use an inductive, theory-building approach to consider the proposition that petrochemical MNCs in the UK have adopted a strategy of tacitly seeking legitimacy by replacing the local site agreements with the National Agreement for Engineering Construction Industry (the NAECI). Our focus on trade union recognition in attributing legitimacy runs parallel with the usual conception in the literature of considering the legitimacy of trade unions per se, and as such contributes a new avenue for theory in the field of employee relations within a wider sociological ambit. In the case of the petrochemical industry, we illustrate the particular attitudes of these MNCs, based on the sector’s own unique history. We argue that this process can be conceptualised as a reversion from efficiency-seeking toward a form of legitimacy-seeking. We see this as a process to regain social capital and to reassert their position as sophisticated and hitherto responsible employers in civil society. As opposed to viewing MNCs in a generic manner, therefore, our contribution is also in providing a 'finer grained' view the MNC by examining the specific sectoral factors.