This authoritative collection brings together the leading contributions to the comparative study of forms of capitalism. An introductory essay presents the context in which these contributions developed, discusses the major issues raised by such comparative work, and suggests likely future developments. Topics include the major theoretical issues involved in analysing different kinds of market economies; the key frameworks for comparing systems of economic organisation, both historically and between societies; the analysis of the distinctive varieties of industrial capitalism that have developed in the Anglo-Saxon countries, Continental Europe and East Asia and studies of globalisation and the connections between types of market economies and varying forms of economic performance, particularly in terms of sectoral development and technical change. The collection will be an indispensable reference source and will improve access to important papers that may not be available in many libraries.

Recent changes to the funding and governance of higher education and scientific research systems are affecting both the organisation of the sciences and the nature of universities as strategic actors in many countries. Transforming the organisational contexts in which research is carried out has altered the dynamics of scientific change through shifts in the authority relations that influence the development and implementation of organisational strategies. The first part of this book deals with the transformation of universities as strategic organisational actors - in some cases creating them as such - while the second shows how governance and authority shifts are affecting the kinds of research goals being pursued by academics in different public science systems. By bringing together the analysis of organisational change in universities with that of how institutional changes are affecting intellectual innovation in different fields, this volume integrates work in the sociology of organisations, science policy, higher education studies, innovation research and the sociology of science. It is therefore of interest to a wide academic and policy development audience in many countries.

The establishment of national systems of retrospective research evaluations is one of the most significant of recent changes in the governance of science. This volume discusses the birth and development of research evaluation systems as well as the reasons for their absence in the United States. The book combines the latest research and an overview of trends in the changing governance of research. The focus is on institutionalisation processes and impacts on knowledge production.

The establishment of national systems of retrospective research evaluations is one of the most significant of recent changes in the governance of science. In many countries, state attempts to manage public science systems and improve their quality have triggered the institutionalisation of such systems, which vary greatly in their methods of assessing research performance, and consequences for universities. The contributions to this volume discuss, inter alia, the birth and development of research evaluation systems as well as the reasons for their absence in the United States, the responses by universities and academics to these new governance regimes, and their consequences for the production of scientific knowledge.

A urocrisis fable: Farce and Tragedy snap at each other's heels as 20 years are compressed into 2 days when the Devil visits Barking Mad. He makes the same offer as always, with the same results as ever. A wild, satirical adventure in the best traditions of English humour. Set against boom and bust, it is a love story, social history and true reflection of the times."

The early twenty-first century is witnessing both an increasing internationalization of many markets, firms, and regulatory institutions, and a reinforcement of the key role of nation states in managing economic development, financial crises, and market upheavals in many OECD and developing economies. Drawing on a variety of interdisciplinary perspectives from leading US and European scholars, this book analyses how capitalism and national capitalisms are changing in this context. It focuses on the economic rise of new countries such as the BRICs, the increasing influence of regional organizations such as the EU and NAFTA, and new forms of private and public international regulation. It also considers how states are adapting their economic policies and processes in this new environment, and the consequences of these adaptations for inequality and risk within different societies. These changes are linked to how firms are developing new strategies for organizing global value chains and the application of scientific knowledge to the commercialization of products in contexts where financial markets are becoming more uncertain and crisis prone, and where different groups are making new demands for more effective forms of corporate governance and corporate social responsibility. Drawing on examples from Europe, North and Latin America, and Asia, it illustrates the complex ways in which different forms of national capitalism are adapting and changing their institutions in response to international financial markets, the global financial crisis, the development of cross-border value chains, and expansion of multinational firms.

Twenty-first century capitalism has been marked by an increasing international economic independence, and considerable differences between dominant economic systems of coordination and control. In this context, national competition and coordination within industries has increased, but the governance of leading firms, and the kinds of competences they develop, remain quite diverse. This book shows how different kinds of firms become established and develop different capabilities in different societies, and as a result are effective in particular kinds of industries and markets.
By integrating institutionalist approaches to organizations with the capabilities theory of the firm, Richard Whitley suggests how we can understand this combination of diversity and integration by developing the comparative business systems framework in three major ways. First, by identifying the particular circumstances in which distinctive business systems and innovation systems become nationally established and reproduced, as well as how changing endogenous and exogenous pressures have affected the major kinds of business systems that developed in many OECD states during the postwar period. Second, by showing how variations in authority sharing with employees and business partners and in the provision of organizational careers lead institutional regimes to affect the nature of organizational capabilities that dominant firms develop and enable them to deal with different kinds of risks and opportunities in particular technologies and markets. Third, by identifying the circumstances in which multinational firms are likely to develop distinctive transnational organizational capabilities through such authoritysharing and careers, and so become different kinds of companies from their more domestically focused competitors. In many, if not most, cases of cross national managerial coordination, these conditions rarely exist, and so the extent to which multinational firms do indeed constitute distinct organizational forms and strategic actors is much less than is sometimes claimed.

An increasing number of studies in the last decade or so have emphasized the viability and persistence of distinctive systems of economic coordination and control in developed market economies. Over more or less the same period, the revival of institutional economics and evolutionary approaches to understanding the firm has focused attention on how firms create distinctive capabilities through establishing routines that coordinate complementary activities and skills for particular strategic purposes. For much of the 1990s these two strands of research remained distinct. Those focusing on the institutional frameworks of market economies were primarily concerned with identifying complementaries between institutional arrangements that explained coherence and continuity. On the other hand, those focusing on the dynamics of firm behavior studied how firms develop new capacities and are able to learn new ways of doing things.
This book aims to bring together these approaches. It consists of a set of theoretically motivated and empirically informed chapters from a range of internationally known contributors to these debates. In their chapters, the authors show how institutions and firms evolve. Ideas of path dependency and complementarity of institutions are subjected to critical scrutiny both by reference to their own internal logic and to empirical examples. Varieties of institutional integration, the surprising maintenance of 'deviant' or alternative traditions and processes, and the existence of unpredictable yet consequential policy options that can lead to breaks in path dependency are scrutinized with particular reference to how national and international firms may relate toinstitutions at various levels as a diverse arena of potential resources rather than as a singular and determinant constraining force. The book provides a set of theoretical and empirical challenges for researchers concerned with the relationship between national institutional contexts and firm dynamics. For those involved in teaching or studying at doctoral, Masters and higher level undergraduate courses, the book provides a structured entry into the debates about how institutions and firms are changing in the contemporary era.

The late twentieth century has witnessed the establishment of new forms of capitalism in East Asia as well as new market economies in Eastern Europe. Despite the growth of international investment and capital flows, these distinctive business systems remain different from each other and from those already developed in Europe and the Americas. This continued diversity of capitalism results from, and is reproduced by, significant differences in societal institutions and agencies such as the state, capital and labour markets, and dominant beliefs about trust, loyalty, and authority. This book presents the comparative business systems framework for describing and explaining the major differences in economic organization between market economies in the late twentieth century. This framework identifies the critical variations in coordination and control systems across forms of industrial capitalism, and shows how these are connected to major differences in their institutional contexts. Six major types of business system are identified and linked to different institutional arrangements. Significant differences in post-war East Asian business systems and the ways in which these are changing in the 1990s are analysed within this framework, which is also extended to compare the path-dependent nature of the new capitalisms emerging in Eastern Europe.

This volume is essential reading for all those interested in emergent developments in Europe. At a time when the forces of globalization are demanding industrial and organizational transformations throughout industrialized and industrializing nations, the book also makes a notable contribution through its unique analysis of the complexities, diversities and socio-political embeddedness of such major change. Focusing particularly on central and eastern Europe, the contributors examine the economic management activities of state agencies in the move from command to market economies and the attempted creation of viable firms for such economies. They look at the changing roles of different interest groups and the various forms of corporatism which are emerging. They also explore various aspects of the restructuring of work systems, including the building of new forms of labour relations in post-socialist Europe. The role of foreign capital and multinationals in shaping host government industrial strategies is addressed, and the ways in which relatively successful industrial regimes can suffer from a lack of flexibility in the face of outside forces are also discussed.

In this major contribution to comparative-international business Richard Whitley compares and contrasts the dominant characteristics of firms and markets in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong, relating these to their particular social, political and economic contexts. At the level of the firm he looks at such areas as management styles and structures, decision-making processes, owner-employee relations, and patterns of company growth and development. He also discusses market development, customer, supplier and inter-firm relations, and the roles of the financial sectors and the state in market and industry development. The book also examines the ways in which key social institutions in each country have affected the evolution of business. Finally, the author makes a comparison of East Asian business systems with dominant Western practices.

As Europe moves towards greater integration there is increasing recognition of national differences in European business - because of significant diversity in national cultures and social institutions affecting business systems. This book explores key characteristics of firms and markets in eight European countries - Denmark, Finland, The Netherlands and Germany compared with Britain, Sweden, Italy and France. Some contributors focus on overall business patterns in the countries concerned while others examine particular industries and sectors to consider the relationship between national influences and cross-national sector developments. To provide a European/East Asian comparison one contribution looks at firms and strategies in Japan and Hong Kong.

It is increasingly accepted that "institutions matter" for economic organization and outcomes. The last decade has seen significant expansion in research examining how institutional contexts affect the nature and behavior of firms, the operation of markets, and economic outcomes. Yet "institutions" conceal a multitude of issues and perspectives. Much of this research has been comparative, and followed different models such as "varieties of capitalism," "national business systems," and "social systems of production."
This Handbook explores these issues, perspectives, and models, with the leading scholars in the area contributing chapters to provide a central reference point for academics, scholars, and students.

Twenty-first century capitalism has been marked by an increasing international economic independence, and considerable differences between dominant economic systems of coordination and control. In this context, national competition and coordination within industries has increased, but the governance of leading firms, and the kinds of competences they develop, remain quite diverse. This book shows how different kinds of firms become established and develop different capabilities in different societies, and as a result are effective in particular kinds of industries and markets.
By integrating institutionalist approaches to organizations with the capabilities theory of the firm, Richard Whitley suggests how we can understand this combination of diversity and integration by developing the comparative business systems framework in three major ways. First, by identifying the particular circumstances in which distinctive business systems and innovation systems become nationally established and reproduced, as well as how changing endogenous and exogenous pressures have affected the major kinds of business systems that developed in many OECD states during the postwar period. Second, by showing how variations in authority sharing with employees and business partners and in the provision of organizational careers lead institutional regimes to affect the nature of organizational capabilities that dominant firms develop and enable them to deal with different kinds of risks and opportunities in particular technologies and markets. Third, by identifying the circumstances in which multinational firms are likely to develop distinctive transnational organizational capabilities through such authoritysharing and careers, and so become different kinds of companies from their more domestically focused competitors. In many, if not most, cases of cross national managerial coordination, these conditions rarely exist, and so the extent to which multinational firms do indeed constitute distinct organizational forms and strategic actors is much less than is sometimes claimed.

An increasing number of studies in the last decade or so have emphasized the viability and persistence of distinctive systems of economic coordination and control in developed market economies. Over more or less the same period, the revival of institutional economics and evolutionary approaches to understanding the firm has focused attention on how firms create distinctive capabilities through establishing routines that coordinate complementary activities and skills for particular strategic purposes. For much of the 1990s these two strands of research remained distinct. Those focusing on the institutional frameworks of market economies were primarily concerned with identifying complementaries between institutional arrangements that explained coherence and continuity. On the other hand, those focusing on the dynamics of firm behavior studied how firms develop new capacities and are able to learn new ways of doing things.
This book aims to bring together these approaches. It consists of a set of theoretically motivated and empirically informed chapters from a range of internationally known contributors to these debates. In their chapters, the authors show how institutions and firms evolve. Ideas of path dependency and complementarity of institutions are subjected to critical scrutiny both by reference to their own internal logic and to empirical examples. Varieties of institutional integration, the surprising maintenance of 'deviant' or alternative traditions and processes, and the existence of unpredictable yet consequential policy options that can lead to breaks in path dependency are scrutinized with particular reference to how national and international firms may relate toinstitutions at various levels as a diverse arena of potential resources rather than as a singular and determinant constraining force. The book provides a set of theoretical and empirical challenges for researchers concerned with the relationship between national institutional contexts and firm dynamics. For those involved in teaching or studying at doctoral, Masters and higher level undergraduate courses, the book provides a structured entry into the debates about how institutions and firms are changing in the contemporary era.

Many different varieties of capitalism have developed in the twentieth century. Despite the rhetoric of globalization, they are continuing to diverge because of significant differences in dominant institutions. Divergent Capitalisms highlights the major differences between business systems in Europe and Asia and explains why they developed and continue. The book is a major synthesis of the author's perpsective.

In a rapidly changing and inter-disciplinary world it is important to understand the nature and generation of knowledge, and its social organization. Increasing attention is paid in the social sciences and management studies to the constitution and claims of different theories, perspectives, and 'paradigms'. This book is one of the most respected and robust analyses of these issues.

Global pressures present similar challenges to companies in different countries, but how those organizations deal with them depends on the social and institutional framework in which they develop and operate. In this book, leading academics explore and explain variations in governance systems, focusing in particular on European trends. In Governance at Work: The Social Regulation of Economic Relations the authors ask: ? Are structures of work and business organization changing? Are we seeing a move away from large-scale (Fordist) mass-production systems that have dominated the industrialized world in the 20th century? ? What are the local/national determinants of business organization? ? Can we speak of different national business systems if so, how do these interact with the operations of international companies in global competition?;This book is intended for academics, researchers, and graduate students in business, economics, management, and organization studies.

Throughout Europe, governments have acted in accordance with the conviction that a larger and uniform market would enable greater economics of scale and the growth of large corporations. This is seen in terms of the spread of multinational, US-style companies, enforcing a uniform type of firm across countries. The contributions to this volume, in contrast, show how the nature of firms is embedded in the larger societal context of nations, preventing a homogenised firm-type spreading across European countries. It becomes clear that researchers should locate the firm in the social context in which it is rooted, rather than looking to economic science to explain a 'non-ideal type.' Areas covered by the contributors include the comparison of typical firms in Denmark adn Finland; the limited transformation of large enterprises in Hungary; and an analysis of supply networks in Britain and Germany. Through these essays and a discussion of the variations in the nature of the firm in Europe by leading Eur