Based on some recent surveys, the paper is intended to offer an overview of the diffusion of organisational change in European firms and their effects in terms of performance and impact on employment. Taking into account the differences in national industrial relation systems in which the changes have taken place, contrasted “national” trajectories are exhibited. Three “models” of diffusion are thus highlighted. The main conclusion of the paper is that – in spite of positive effects in terms of performance – the process of organizational change in the European firms is still timid and carried on under strict managerial control.