Changes in SMEs : towards a new european capitalism? /ed. by Katharina Bluhm

Most research on institutional features of distinct varieties of capitalism in Europe has analyzed only large corporations. This volume explores the impact of the institutional and structural changes on corporate governance, management culture, and social relationships in small and medium sized enterprises in different European countries. Cover......Page 1 Contents......Page 6 List of Tables......Page 8 List of Figures......Page 9 Acknowledgements......Page 10 Notes on the Contributors......Page 11 1 Why Should the Varieties Literature Grant Smaller Firms More Attention? An Introduction......Page 18 Part I: Changing Financing, Ownership and Firm Management......Page 32 2 The Power of Financial Markets – What Does that Mean and How Does it Work for Different Categories of Companies?......Page 34 3 Change within Traditional Channels: German SMEs, the Restructuring of the Banking Sector, and the Growing Shareholder-Value Orientation......Page 56 4 Corporate Financing, Management and Organization in SMEs: An Anglo-German Comparison......Page 75 5 Stakeholder or Shareholder Orientation? Entrepreneurial Careers and Value Preferences of Entrepreneurs in East Germany......Page 94 6 SMEs in France: New Perspectives and New Generation of Small-Business Owners......Page 116 7 Family Business and Family Change: The End of Patriarchalism......Page 135 Part II: SMEs in Globalized Production Networks......Page 150 8 SMEs in the Global Economy: A Comparison of the Global Production Networks of German and British Clothing Firms......Page 152 9 Flexibility and Formalization: Rethinking Space and Governance in Corporations and Manufacturing Regions......Page 169 10 Innovation Strategies of Non-Research-Intensive SMEs......Page 188 11 From the 'Wild West' Towards Europe: Change and Challenges in SMEs in Poland......Page 202 Part III: Labour Relations in Change......Page 218 12 Structural Changes and New Forms of Social Regulation in the 'Third Italy' – the Case of the Emilia-Romagna Region......Page 220 13 Polish SMEs at a Crossroads: Market Strategies and Labour Relations in Global Competition......Page 245 14 Unravelling Regulation: How Production Relocation to the East Impacts the German Model of Labour Relations at the Workplace......Page 260 15 Irregular Forms of Employee Interest Representation in SMEs: A German-French Comparison......Page 275 16 Social Relationships in German SMEs: An East-West Comparison......Page 291 C......Page 308 D......Page 309 E......Page 310 G......Page 311 H......Page 312 K......Page 313 M......Page 314 O......Page 315 P......Page 316 S......Page 317 U......Page 319 Z......Page 320 "In the debate on the varieties of capitalism, most attention is given to large corporations. If listed on capital markets, they are not only a preferred target of new actors and rules, but are also perceived as a driving force for institutional change and globalization. Most, if not all, institutional features of the distinct versions of capitalism have been analysed only with regard to this type of enterprise. This book takes the view that European capitalism cannot be understood without taking small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) into account. It argues that the neglect of size differences of firms in the literature has led to shortfalls in understanding the institutional framework and has obscured an important area of institutional and corporate change.This volume employs a comparative perspective to explore the impact of the institutional and structural changes on corporate governance, management culture, and social relationships in SMEs in different European countries."--BOOK JACKET