This book examines how firms adapt to the pressures of increasing international competition by testing the arguments on "strategy specialization" proposed in the competitiveness literature in general, and by contributors to the "varieties of capitalism" debate in particular. If different economies are characterized by distinct institutional arrangements, successful firms would be those that exploit the related comparative advantages and specialize in the competitive strategies facilitated by national institutions.One Political Economy, One Competitive Strategy? begins with an assessment of how many pharmaceutical firms in Germany, Italy, and the UK pursue strategies facilitated by national institutions governing the financial markets, antitrust activities, and the labor market. Quantitative analyses reveal that deviant firms, competing through institutionally unsupported strategies, outnumber conforming firms by far. Not only does this finding run counter to the expectations of the competitiveness literature, it brings up a whole new line of inquiry. How can firms compete through strategies that are not supported by national institutions? The book addresses this question and illustrates that firms do not necessarily exploit comparative institutional advantages, but that they can also circumvent institutional constraints. International markets and individual collaboration on a contractual basis allow firms to compete despite comparative institutional disadvantages. These findings suggest that trade liberalization does not lead to strategy specialization but to strategy diversification, depending on the inventiveness of entrepreneurs to develop individual approaches to compete.
Author(s): Andrea M. Herrmann
Year: 2009
Language: English
Pages: 256
Contents......Page 14
Preface......Page 8
Acknowledgements......Page 11
List of Tables and Graph......Page 16
List of Abbreviations......Page 18
PART I. SPECIALIZATION IN LINE WITH COMPARATIVE INSTITUTIONAL ADVANTAGES?......Page 20
1. Introduction......Page 22
1.1. Political Economy Perspectives on Firm Competitiveness in Response to Globalization......Page 24
1.2. An Analytical Framework for Studying Competitiveness......Page 32
1.3. The Argument in Brief......Page 36
1.4. Outline of the Book......Page 42
2. Patterns of Strategy Specialization......Page 45
2.1. How to Distinguish Competitive Strategies: Concepts and Operationalization......Page 49
2.2. Do Firms in Germany, Italy, and the UK Specialize in the Same Strategy?......Page 53
2.3. Are Competitive Strategies Mutually Exclusive?......Page 63
2.4. Final Assessment......Page 66
2.5. Conclusions and Outlook on Further Research......Page 69
PART II. LINKING INSTITUTIONS, INPUT FACTORS, AND COMPETITIVE STRATEGIES......Page 72
3. Linking Financial Market Institutions, Corporate Finance, and Competitive Strategies......Page 74
3.1. Hypotheses as to How Different Types of Finance Facilitate RPI, DQP, and LCP Strategies......Page 77
3.2. How Important Are Debt Finance and Share Capital for RPI, DQP, and LCP Strategies?......Page 80
3.3. How Insider and Outsider Share Capital Impact on RPI and DQP Strategies: Competing Despite Comparative Institutional Disadvantages?......Page 89
3.4. Concluding Interpretation......Page 98
4. Linking Antitrust Legislation, Standards, and Competitive Strategies......Page 102
4.1. Hypotheses as to How Different Standardization Processes Facilitate RPI, DQP, and LCP Strategies......Page 106
4.2. How Important Are Competitive and Coordinated Standardization for RPI, DQP, and LCP Strategies?......Page 108
4.3. Competing Despite Comparative Institutional Disadvantages? Competitive and Coordinated Standardization in Economies with Different Antitrust Legislation......Page 117
4.4. Concluding Interpretation......Page 119
5. Linking Labour-Market Institutions, Employee Skills, and Competitive Strategies......Page 122
5.1. Hypotheses as to How Different Types of Employee Skills Facilitate RPI, DQP, and LCP Strategies......Page 125
5.2. How Important Are Different Skill Types for RPI, DQP, and LCP Strategies?......Page 128
5.3. Competing Despite Comparative Institutional Disadvantages: Securing the Required Skill Profiles in Different Labour-Market Economies......Page 139
5.4. Concluding Interpretation......Page 147
PART III. STRATEGY CHOICE, SUCCESS, AND SUSTAINABILITY IN PERSPECTIVE......Page 152
6. Excursus: Success and Choice of Competitive Strategies......Page 154
6.1. Strategy Success......Page 155
6.2. Strategy Choice......Page 168
6.3. Concluding Interpretation......Page 173
7.1. Varieties Within Capitalism: Alternative Pathways to Competitiveness......Page 176
7.2. How Institutions Matter – And How They Don’t......Page 182
References......Page 190
Technical Appendix......Page 205
C......Page 212
D......Page 213
G......Page 214
I......Page 215
L......Page 216
P......Page 217
R......Page 218
S......Page 219
V......Page 220
Z......Page 221
