As product and labour markets within the European Union are liberalized and
deregulated, industrial relations regulation appears to shift from national to
sector and company levels. Nonetheless, company-based initiatives such as
management-labour partnerships are still more likely to flourish in coordinated
rather than liberal market economies. This is demonstrated in this article by a
contextualized comparison of three national airlines. While Lufthansa has been able
to develop an innovative, long-term competitive strategy, both British Airways and
Aer Lingus have been permitted, if not compelled, to pursue short-term,
cost-minimizing strategies inimical to their management-labour partnerships.
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