For several years the German economy has been lambasted within and without for its economic quot;rigiditiesquot; and lack of dynamism. Accordingly, there has been no let-up in the proposals to get the German economy quot;on trackquot;. Since the early 1990s four institutional weaknesses have...

This article addresses the issue of how to explain institutional change in national political economies. Within an actor-centered institutionalist theoretical framework, it explores the utility of a coalitional explanation for changes in the financial and corporate governance systems of Italy....

This paper examines the role of institutional analysis within the field of international business (IB) studies. Within IB, institutions matter, but the view of institutions tends to be “thin”, utilizing summary indicators rather than detailed description, and thus approaches institutions as...

There have been numerous accounts exploring the relationship between institutions and firm practices. However, much of this literature tends to be located into distinct theoretical-traditional 'silos', such as national business systems, social systems of production, regulation theory, or...

As in many other nations, economic globalization undermined the economic policymaking autonomy of the German federal government. At the same time, it prompted decentralization of other kinds of economic policymaking authority within the federal system. Thus, the Länder have assumed increased...

This paper examines the role of the banking system in the German model of industrial development. It argues that banks continue to fulfil several of their traditional functions in industrial finance despite dramatic changes in financial regulation and the internationalisation of product and...