The paper explores the influence of institutional frameworks on the evolution of the German software and biotechnology sectors. It links institutional constraints to poor performance of German firms in high volume market niches characterized by turbulent technological change and substantial...

The effective corporate governance of innovating firms calls for a capacity to deal with novelty, visibility and appropriability. Such capacities are found to vary among sectors, in terms of industry-specific expertise, firm-specific perceptiveness, and (sometimes) stakeholder enfranchisement....

This paper examines a feature of German industrial organisation, namely the patterns of supplier networks established by the automotive industry in East Germany, using Ope1 and VW in Zwickau and Eisenach as case studies. The paper argues that these networks depart from a 'regional' public policy...