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 insid.

Cross-firm studies -- Work-life balance, management practices, and productivity / Nick Bloom, Tobias Kretschmer, and John Van Reenen -- International differences in the adoption and impact of new information technologies and new HR practices : the valve-making industry in the United States and United Kingdom / Ann Bartel ... [et al.] -- The guy at the controls : labor quality and power plant efficiency / James B. Bushnell and Catherine Wolfram -- Within-firm studies -- Labor practices and outcomes across countries : analysis of a single multinational firm / Richard B. Freeman, Douglas Kruse, and Joseph Blasi -- Within-firm labor productivity across countries : a case study / Francine Lafontaine and Jagadeesh Sivadasan -- Productivity differences in an international pharmaceutical firm / Tor Eriksson and Niels Westergaard-Nielsen -- Measuring the productivity of software development in a globally distributed company / Alec Levenson -- International differences in lean production, productivity and employee attitudes / Susan Helper and Morris M. Kleiner.