US multinationals operating in the Republic are more likely than their peers from other countries to promote forms of "shareholder capitalism" for their employees but to be hostile towards unions, new research has found.

The study, conducted by researchers from the University of Limerick, has also found that US firms are more likely to use human resources (HR) techniques such as peer appraisal and problem-solving groups.

The UL researchers based their analysis on interviews with senior HR staff at 262 multinational firms operating in the Republic.

The study, which was conducted in co-operation with the ESRI, the Economic and Social Research Institute, compares the workplace environments of multinationals that has Irish operations, focusing on 216 foreign-owned firms (US, UK and European) and 46 Irish-owned multinationals.

The survey finds that 61 per cent of Irish multinationals are more likely to recognise unions in the workplace, compared with 41 per cent of the US firms with operations here.

It also highlights the trend of unionised multinationals not recognising unions in their new sites, a phenomenon referred to as "double-breasting".

Almost six in 10 of multinationals are engaging in some form of double-breasting, the study finds, with it particularly prominent among US firms.

The study also finds that US companies are more likely than others to promote forms of "shareholder capitalism" such as employee share ownership, profit-sharing and share-option schemes, and performance-related pay.

While the US firms are often IT (information technology) companies with small workforces, the Irish multinational firms are mostly large employers, with more than 1,000 employees.

The Irish firms are more likely to be operating in "low-tech" sectors such as food production. This reflects "in part Ireland's background as an agricultural country", the researchers say.

The HR executives say they are concerned about the high cost of operating in the Republic. Labour costs here are very high, they say.

In the Republic's favour, HR executives praise the quality of graduates and of their staff's capacity to learn new skills, although they warn about the possibility of future insufficient supplies of talent.

The analysis also concludes that the perception that multinationals are bailing out of the Republic as the economy nosedives is wrong.

Over the past five years, multinationals in the Republic have been more likely to expand than contract, the Limerick team finds.

The analysis of the researchers points to "a more optimistic picture than portrayed by the popular media".

"Approximately half of the respondent firms indicated they had established a new site or expanded an existing site within the previous five years. On the other hand, just over a fifth had closed a site during the same period."

The University of Limerick researchers describe the phenomenon as "job churn" - concurrent job loss and job creation, particularly in the manufacturing sector.

However, HR staff express concern at the declining competitiveness of the Irish economy.

They say they are worried about rising staff costs and the possibility that there would be not enough talent to fill jobs in the future.