This essay reviews the development of approaches within the comparative capitalisms (CC) literature and points to three theoretical innovations which, taken together, define and distinguish these approaches as a group. First, national economies are characterized by distinct institutional...

In this paper we examine some effects of economic internationalization on state structures, especially in regard to the distribution of power and authority within federalist systems. Using an institutional rational choice model, we analyze changes in financial regulation and market structures in...

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

How can we determine when an existing institutional path or trajectory is ending and being replaced with a new one? How does such a process take place? How can we distinguish between institutional innovation within an existing trajectory and a switchover to a new trajectory or path? This paper...

The concept of institutional complementarity – i.e. the idea that the co-existence of two or more institutions enhances the functioning of each – is increasingly used to explain why institutions are resistant to change and why introducing new institutions into a system often leads to...

The financial foundation of Germany's manufacturing success, according to the comparative capitalism literature, is an ample supply of long-term capital, provided to firms by a three-pillar banking system and "patient" domestic shareholders. This premise also informs the recent literature on...

The U.S. is often seen as being the paradigmatic case of the shareholder-oriented or market-based model to corporate governance, and described in terms of several inter-related elements: activist institutional investors, an open market for corporate control, independent outside directors on the...

Corporate governance in Germany is often described as a bank-oriented, block-holder or stakeholder model where markets for corporate control have not played a significant role. This case study of the hostile takeover of Mannesmann AG by Vodafone in 2000 demonstrates how systemic changes during...