Changes in corporate governance of German corporations: convergence to the Anglo-American model?

This paper examines the many changes which have transformed the German system of corporate governance during the last seven odd years. It concludes that it is in the process of converging towards the Anglo-American system and that this has fundamentally affected the way strategic decisions are made in firms. Large, internationally oriented companies are particularly affected. But the notion of shareholder value and its many behavioural effects are gradually spreading also to other parts of the economy. Consequently, the distinctive logic, which had underpinned the German variety of capitalism during most of the post-war period, is eroding. This transformation is affecting also labour and industrial relations in negative ways. The argument is empirically substantiated with data about recent trends in capital markets, banks and firms. The paper theoretically examines institutional change, focussing on the notions of system logic and institutional complementarity. It examines both external sources of change and internal powerful actors who promote the process of transformation. The notion of hybridisation of the German business system is examined but is rejected in favour of a trend towards convergence. Convergence is not seen as a functional necessity, nor is it viewed as inevitable.Corporate governance, capital markets, German variety of capitalism, institutional change.

Between The Global And The Local: A Comparison Of The British And German Clothing Industry

The clothing industry is regarded as one the most globalised industries of developed economies, yet most studies focus on the geography of production for US firms and pay scant attention to the geography of trade or to other national cases. This paper broadens the perspective to cover the whole network of German and British clothing firms’ relationships by examining both their supply chain organisation and their market strategy, including their relations with retailers. It demonstrates the interdependencies between their strategic responses at different stages of the value chain and shows that relationships with both suppliers and customers have strongly defined the industry and firms in both countries, albeit differently. The global context of the clothing industry and the common pressures experienced by the national industries are also considered. We draw on industry statistics and on early impressions from interviews with clothing firms and retailers in both countries during 2003.clothing industry, supply chain, globalisation, United Kingdom, Germany

How banks construct and manage risk: A sociological study of small firm lending in Britain and Germany

This paper analyses the role of banks in financing SMEs in Britain and Germany. It applies a sociological institutionalist approach to understand how banks construct and manage risk, relating to SME business. The empirical analysis is based on the results of a comparative survey of a sample of British and German banks and also refers to statistical material produced by the banks themselves. The paper concludes that, even though bank-firm relations are still deeply embedded in national institutional frameworks, some tendencies towards convergence can also be observed, particularly among commercial banks from the two countries. These flow from both internationalisation and from the political influence of the EU. -- In diesem Papier wird die Rolle von Banken in der Finanzierung von Klein- und Mittelunternehmen (KMU) in Großbritannien und Deutschland untersucht. Mit Hilfe eines soziologisch institutionellen Ansatzes wird der Frage nachgegangen, wie Banken Risiken bei der Kreditvergabe an KMU konstruieren und managen. Die empirische Studie basiert auf Ergebnissen einer vergleichenden Befragung von Bankmanagern in einer Stichprobe von britischen und deutschen Banken sowie auf statistischen Angaben der Banken. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass Beziehungen zwischen Banken und KMU zwar nach wie vor in nationale institutionelle Rahmenbedingungen eingebettet sind. Zugleich führen aber Internationalisierung und politische Einflüsse der Europäischen Union auch zu einer partiellen Annäherung zuvor unterschiedlicher Modelle, und zwar insbesondere was die Praktiken kommerzieller Banken in beiden Ländern betrifft.

Globalisation and Its Impact on Competitiveness: the Case of the British and German Pharmaceutical Industry

This paper assesses the degree of financial and economic globalisation of British and German pharmaceutical companies during 1990 and 2001 and explores the changing balance between globalisation and national embeddedness. It tries to explain both the much lower degree of globalisation of German as compared to British companies in 1990, as well as their catching up at the beginning of the 21st century. The paper suggests that the lesser degree of globalisation of German firms during most of the 1990s partly explains their slide in competitiveness during this period. The conclusion examines prospects for the future of firms in both economies. The paper draws on detailed industry data, as well as case studies of the major firms in the two national industries.globalisation, pharmaceutical industry, performance, British-German comparison

Domestic capabilities and global production networks in the clothing industry: a comparison of German and UK firms' strategies

In this paper we examine the sourcing strategies of clothing firms in the developed economies of the UK and Germany in the context of their national institutional framework. We argue that, as a result of their embeddedness in divergent national structures, these firms pursue different sourcing strategies and make different locational choices. We place particular emphasis on the different mix of armsÕ length and relational contracting that firms develop, and on the divergent degree of control over the manufacturing process and the product that they retain. We suggest that the construction of global production networks and control over supplier firms is mediated by co-ordinating firmsÕ product strategy and the degree of dependence on national retailers this engenders. In the UK and Germany, firms and their networks differ from the US case which is normally taken as representative of the industry.clothing industry, global production networks, capabilities

Book review: capital in the twenty-first century by Thomas Piketty

Questions about the long-term evolution of inequality, the concentration of wealth, and the prospects for economic growth lie at the heart of political economy. But satisfactory answers have been hard to find for lack of adequate data and clear guiding theories. In Capital in the Twenty-First Century, Thomas Piketty seeks to analyse a unique collection of data from twenty countries, ranging as far back as the eighteenth century, to uncover key economic and social patterns. Piketty shows himself to be not only a supereconomist but also a skilled politician, writes Christel Lane. No wonder his thoughts have resonated even at the highest political levels. One can only hope that his work will actually influence adoption of his policy recommendations

Institutional transformation and system change: changes in corporate governance of German corporations

'Im Zentrum der Abhandlung stehen Veränderungsprozesse, die das deutsche System der Corporate Governance in den vergangenen sieben Jahre transformiert haben. Es wird argumentiert, dass es sich in einem Prozess der Anpassung an das anglo-amerikanische System befindet und dass dieser Wandel die Wege strategischer Entscheidungsfindung in privatwirtschaftlichen Unternehmen fundamental beeinflusst. Die Veränderungen der Kapitalmärkte und die Durchsetzung des Shareholder-Value-Prinzips beeinflussen nicht nur große internationale Unternehmen, sondern greifen auch auf andere Teile der Wirtschaft durch. Diese Transformationen wirken sich sowohl auf der Ebene der Arbeitsbeziehungen als auch auf der Ebene der industriellen Beziehungen negativ aus und bedrohen das deutsche Modell diversifizierter und qualitativ hochwertiger Produktion. Derzeitige Veränderungsprozesse in den Kapitalmärkten, den Banken, den Governance-Systemen und den Unternehmen werden sowohl mit Hilfe eines theoretischen Erklärungskonzeptes institutioneller und systemischer Transformation als auch mit Hilfe einer empirischen Rückbindung des Konzeptes analysiert. Die im Vordergrund stehenden Ausführungen über Entwicklungstrends in der chemisch-pharmazeutischen Industrie werden mit Daten aus Unternehmen anderer Sektoren sowie aus dem Finanzsektor angereichert. Das theoretische Konzept institutionellen Wandels zielt auf die Erklärung der Systemlogik, der institutionellen Komplementarität, sowie der funktionalen Konversion und Hybridisierung ab. Hierbei werden sowohl systemexterne Wandlungsfaktoren als auch systeminterne handlungsmächtige Akteure berücksichtigt, die den Transformationsprozess voran treiben. Wie heraus gearbeitet wird, lässt sich der beobachtete Wandel weder mit dem Verweis auf die Bedeutung der Hybridisierung des Unternehmenssystems noch mit dem Verweis auf Anforderungen erklären, die sich aus Prozessen funktionaler Konversion und der Evolution einer neuartigen komplementären Konversion ergeben. Vielmehr lässt sich der Wandel als Anpassungsprozess des deutschen Systems der Corporate Governance analysieren.' (Autorenreferat)'This paper examines the many changes which have transformed the German system of corporate governance during the last seven odd years. It concludes that it is in the process of converging towards the Anglo-American model and that this has fundamentally affected the way strategic decisions are made in firms. Convergence is not seen as a functional necessity, nor is it viewed as inevitable. The transformation in capital markets and the rise to dominance of the notion of shareholder value is particularly affecting large international and quoted firms but is gradually spreading also to other parts of the economy. This transformation is affecting labour and industrial relations in negative ways, as well as posing a threat to the German production model of diversified quality production. The paper offers both a theoretical exploration of institutional and system transformation and an empirical study which substantiates the theoretical position taken with evidence about recent trends in capital markets, banks, government and firms. Evidence from the pharmaceutical/ chemical industry is supplemented by data on firms in other sectors, including the financial sector. The theoretical examination of institutional change focuses on the notions of system logic, institutional complementarity, functional conversion and hybridisation. It examines both external sources of change and internal powerful actors who promote the process of transformation. The notions of hybridisation of the German business system, as well as claims about functional conversion and the evolution of a new complementarity, are rejected in favour of a trend towards convergence.' (author's abstract)

Cooking under fire: managing multilevel tensions between creativity and innovation in haute cuisine

This inductive study of Michelin-starred restaurants in Britain and Germany examines how organizations attend to tensions between idea creation and implementation that characterize innovation processes. Based on the analysis of in-depth interviews with 40 chefs-de-cuisine, we identify tensions at two distinct levels of analysis. The first tension, situated at the individual level, occurs between the artistic identity of the chefs-de-cuisine and their work identity; the second one, at the organizational level, arises because creativity and implementation are equally important for the organizational success, thus making it impossible to disentangle chefs' contribution from that of the kitchen brigade. Case evidence shows that effective tactics for managing these tensions simultaneously emphasize distinctions and create synergies between the contradictory elements of each tension. Moreover, our cross-national sample allows us to show how differences at the national institutional level affect the management of tensions and thus shed light on the mechanisms through which institutional environments affect innovation. These insights contribute to existing research in creativity and innovation

How banks construct and manage risk: a sociological study of small firm lending in Britain and Germany

"This paper analyses the role of banks in financing SMEs in Britain and Germany. It applies a sociological institutionalist approach to understand how banks construct and manage risk, relating to SME business. The empirical analysis is based on the results of a comparative survey of a sample of British and German banks and also refers to statistical material produced by the banks themselves. The paper concludes that, even though bank-firm relations are still deeply embedded in national institutional frameworks, some tendencies towards convergence can also be observed, particularly among commercial banks from the two countries. These flow from both internationalisation and from the political influence of the EU." (author's abstract)"In diesem Papier wird die Rolle von Banken in der Finanzierung von Klein- und Mittelunternehmen (KMU) in Großbritannien und Deutschland untersucht. Mit Hilfe eines soziologisch institutionellen Ansatzes wird der Frage nachgegangen, wie Banken Risiken bei der Kreditvergabe an KMU konstruieren und managen. Die empirische Studie basiert auf Ergebnissen einer vergleichenden Befragung von Bankmanagern in einer Stichprobe von britischen und deutschen Banken sowie auf statistischen Angaben der Banken. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass Beziehungen zwischen Banken und KMU zwar nach wie vor in nationale institutionelle Rahmenbedingungen eingebettet sind. Zugleich führen aber Internationalisierung und politische Einflüsse der Europäischen Union auch zu einer partiellen Annäherung zuvor unterschiedlicher Modelle, und zwar insbesondere was die Praktiken kommerzieller Banken in beiden Ländern betrifft." (Autorenreferat