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capitalism, Germany, furniture-making, automotive manufacturing, biopharmaceuticals, television, film-making
Abstract:
This introductory chapter begins with a discussion of the focus of the book, which starts from the assumption that although certain national institutions may dominate a particular national economy, there are likely to be regions or smaller localities where different institutional patterns survive and possibly thrive. The book focuses on the following sectors: furniture-making, motor-vehicle manufacture, biopharmaceuticals, and television film-making. At the centre of the work is the German economy, as this is frequently depicted in the literature as one with particularly rigid, interconnected institutions and offering little scope for local variation. Selection of the comparators, case studies, and the theoretical basis on which the research rests are discussed.
