Wie und wie stark beeinflussen moralische Argumente wirtschaftliches Handeln?

While the corporate social responsibility literature tends to argue that companies should behave socially responsibly, it neglects the empirical question under which conditions they do so. This article fills this research gap by showing under which conditions moral arguments influence companies. The paper uses a representative company survey to show that companies name moral arguments as a strong deterrent to the offshoring of production to low cost countries. In addition, companies are less likely to offshore production when they mention moral scruples against doing so. The article uses a case study to process-trace the mechanisms, by which moral arguments exert this influence. First, it shows how moral arguments influence what is defined as economically rational under uncertainty, thereby influencing economic strategies. Secondly, the article shows how moral arguments influence companies by destroying their social capital, and thirdly, it shows how moral arguments can destroy public legitimacy, again influencing economic behavior. The article proposes these three mechanisms as a general framework through which one can understand the influence of moral arguments on companies.     

How international competition reinforces corporate governance and product market strategies: The case of Bosch

This paper analyses the impact of intensified international competition on the German corporate governance system by investigating corporate governance and corporate strategy at Bosch. Being a non-listed but highly internationalised company, the case study of Bosch allows one to disentangle the effects of financial and product market globalisation. In order to assess theoretical claims about convergence of German corporate governance towards Anglo-Saxon patterns or continuing divergence – put forward by convergence theory and the ‘Varieties of Capitalism’ approach – four dimensions of corporate governance and strategy are investigated: internationalisation strategy, industrial relations, portfolio policy and product market strategy. The paper argues that international competition in isolation leads to a reinforcement of traditional features of German corporate governance. It finds that Bosch has internationalised vigorously, but followed its traditional style of internationalisation, that co-management of the employees has not come under pressure, that long-pursued diversification attempts have been continued and that Bosch has deepened its product market specialisation.     

An ounce of prevention? The reform of the German trade union Federation

This article investigates the causes and content of the ongoing reform of the German Trade Union Federation (DGB). We argue that problems predating German unification ‐ in particular, a skewed demographic profile, financial crisis and waning political clout ‐ are the central factors that led German unionists to undertake reform and have largely determined the reform's content. German unification acted simply as a catalyst rather than the cause prompting union reform. German unions can only retain their prominent economic and social position if they promote genuine democratic reform within their ranks. Otherwise unions will never attract employees from the high technology and service sectors that are essential to the union movement's survival in the coming century. German unions should also resist the temptation to take on all of the problems plaguing German society. They must instead concentrate on the essential tasks of all labour movements: discerning the ever‐changing wants of today's increasingly heterogeneous work force and fighting with employers and governments to obtain them.     

Finanzplatz deutschland: National or European response to internationalisation?

Germany's has long been held up as a competitive, bank‐based financial system, providing long‐term and secure finance for industrial and service companies. The emphasis here is on the international market and regulatory conditions which have helped to transform the the financial system. In the 1980s, the government remained averse to any ‘Big Bang’ experiment, adapting national securities markets to policy initiatives in the US, and in London and Paris. This aversion was rooted in Bundesbank opposition to the development of money markets, and to the practice of corporate‐bank‐insurance cross‐shareholding among Germany's big publicly listed corporations. The politics of ‘Finanzplatz Deutschland’ achieved a balance between maintaining national institutions and adapting them carefully to international markets and regulation. Implementing monetary union and the European financial area in the 1990s and beyond amounts in effect to a ‘Big Bang ‘ policy which is already under way. The prospect of a liquid ‘Euro'‐market for securities, and increasingly competitive banking and insurance markets, spells a shift in German corporate policies towards Anglo‐American practices. National cross‐shareholding corporate structures will not long survive a single currency.     

East German Intelligence and Ireland, 1949–90: Espionage,Terrorism and Diplomacy

This article analyses the writings of a prominent German social and political theorist ‐ Jürgen Habermas ‐ on the process of (reunification in Germany and examines responses to his interventions by right‐wing thinkers opposed to his views. (Re)unification is a setting of rapidly developing and changing events which present a challenge to Habermas’ thinking. Put simply, Habermas is highly critical of the ‘rush towards (re)unification’ and the process which has followed it. In particular, he objects to attempts by right‐wing thinkers, predominantly historians, to rewrite German history and which elude German responsibility in respect of the horrors of the Holocaust. Equally, he has explicitly shown the links between questions of German identity and the rewriting of German history and argues that the only viable identity for Germany post‐(re)Unification is that of ‘constitutional identity’ and not national identity. His writings have, however, been the subject of sometimes vehement and vitriolic critiques and this article seeks not only to engage with these but also to examine the interventions of Habermas in relation to his earlier more theoretical writings.     

“Export or Die”; Foreign Trade in the Third Reich

In recent years, a substantial number of publications has enriched our understanding of the economic history of the Third Reich. In particular the history of German companies during the 1930s and 1940s has been examined in much greater detail. Major companies (among others VW, Allianz, Deutsche Bank, Bertelsmann) have opened up their archives to historians — not for the production of self‐glorifying company histories, but for critical analyses of the experience, attitude and policies of the particular company in the Third Reich. It is now possible to draw more detailed and clearer conclusions on the relationship between the Nazi regime and the business community than only twenty years ago. As part of a wider research project on “Foreign Trade in the Third Reich” I draw upon these recent research outcomes and earlier publications, along with my own research on a particularly important sector of the German economy, engineering, to provide an outline analysis of three significant areas: The economic views and policies of leading members of the Nazi regime in general and towards Germany's industrial export sector in particular, the experience (relations to regime, policies, responses) of German companies in the Third Reich in general and of exporters of manufactured products in particular, and, as a case study, the experience of producers and exporters of machinery.     

The sirens of power and German foreign policy: Who is listening?

The unification of Germany has, unsurprisingly, provoked much speculation as to the future foreign policy of the country. Two images ‐ Germany as Gulliver and Germany as Ulysses ‐ have dominated the debate, each coming in a popular and an academic version. This article analyses German foreign policy behaviour and discourse in order to determine which one is more accurate. As to behaviour, the article examines two examples from the core sector of national security policy as well as how Germany's relations developed with France, the United States, Russia and Poland. As to discourse, five ‘schools of thought’ in the current debate about German foreign policy are related to a set of five grand strategies that are suggested either in the literature or in public debate. In both words and deeds the analysis shows that united Germany continues to stick to the course of multilateralism and integration.     

Mechanismen institutionellen Wandels im deutschen Kapitalismus

In the debate on the convergence of Rhenish capitalism towards the Anglo-Saxon model there is a growing consensus on the emergence of hybrid institutional configurations which combine elements of both systems. Our paper traces the mechanisms and driving forces leading to varying degrees of convergence with Anglo-Saxon standards and institutions by comparing the changes in two areas of German corporate governance regulation, namely internal corporate governance and accounting. Whereas existing institutions were coupled with Anglo-Saxon elements in the case of internal corporate governance (?layering“), traditional standards and institutions were substituted for new ones in the case of accounting (?displacement“). We argue that the varying degree of convergence can be explained by the different preferences of key national actors, such as companies and trade unions, in the two cases and the varying exogenous pressures for reforms. Our study highlights the importance of a meso-level analysis of causal mechanisms for the explanation of institutional change in modern capitalism.     

Institutioneller Wandel als Hybridisierung

In March 2005, institutional investors forced Deutsche Börse AG to withdraw its takeover bid for the London Stock Exchange, followed some time later by the resignation of both the enterprise’s CEO and supervisory board. This event highlights in an exemplary manner the transformation of joint-stock companies in Germany from insider systems towards systems including both insiders and outsiders and the related transformation of their corporate governance. The conflict between Deutsche Börse AG’s principals and agents demonstrates, first of all, the hybridization of different governance systems. Contrary to assumptions speaking of ?path dependency“ or a convergence of the different varieties of capitalism in the direction of the US model of market-based capitalism, the conflict concerning Deutsche Börse AG underlines the typical example of a transformation displaying path dependencies and convergences at the same time. Secondly, it is demonstrated that the enterprises’ market opening will not necessarily involve stronger market control, but that this process instead evokes new options for corporate policy governance.     

Siemens' ‘Anglo‐Saxon’ strategy: Is globalising business enough?

In the 1990s German conglomerates have attempted to move towards Anglo‐Saxon business values. Siemens saw shareholder value as the key measure of competitiveness. To become more Anglo‐Saxon, the strategy of Siemens was to globalise its business and change corporate culture. These changes have proved to be insufficient. Vertically integrated conglomerates need to break up their business empires, focus on their core competencies and move towards de‐integrated networking relations if they want high stock‐market performance.     

Contextualised Capital: Policy Reforms and Inward Flows in Germany

Policy-makers in Germany have implemented, from the early 1990s to the mid 2000s, an impressive set of reforms designed to provide greater legal protection to minority shareholders. These reforms are linked with circumscribed changes: medium and long-term UK/US-based institutional investors have become major shareholders of large German firms; the incursions of short-term institutional investors, in contrast, have been more limited. This outcome highlights the interaction between firm-level institutional arrangements of German companies and the characteristics of different categories of shareholder value oriented funds. Institutional arrangements act as constraints that reduce the range of the strategic options of German firms. However, institutions are not specific enough to translate into predictions about the investment behaviour of different categories of investors who are themselves governed by internally defined rules that affect how they operate within an institutional framework.     

Reclaiming our minds; reclaiming our souls; reclaiming our people: A call to the black world

Abstract

From Barbados to Burundi and from New Guinea to Nigeria, almost all that is known about crucial developments in other black nations comes from white world news organisations ‐ BBC, CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC and other corporate‐controlled media. Owing to this, as well as to the general longstanding relationship between the white world and the African Diaspora, our peoples, our strivings, our triumphs ‐ are either routinely ignored or grotesquely distorted. There is no structural mechanism for the sharing of information throughout the African Diaspora. As a result, we truly are at the mercy of a corporate‐controlled media that not only presents either no information or distorted information about the African Diaspora to the rest of the world, but feeds these distortions to us throughout the African Diaspora. In the process, the international media promotes and inculcates standards and values that are philosophically and culturally discordant with the global African reality.

Governments and peoples of the African Diaspora must begin to discuss, debate, and re‐think for ourselves, and amongst ourselves, those circumstances and conditions, those values and realities, those yardsticks by which we will measure and judge ourselves. It is based on these standards that we should judge and assess the health and appeal of all nations. There are certain priorities, of course, that all nations and peoples should embrace ‐ an informed and educated populace; affordable health care for all; employment that serves the needs of the individual and the interests of the nation. Beyond that, however, throughout the Diaspora we in the African Diaspora must recognise the strengths that are uniquely ours, and build on them. The giraffe becomes a pathetic caricature when it attempts to be a gazelle. The time has come for us to reclaim and re‐assert our essential African‐ness; to build societies where the social, economic, and spiritual development of the human being is paramount; to recognise all that is ours materially and spiritually ‐ the minerals in the earth, the forests above it, our waterways, our God‐given resources that for so long have been the source of enormous wealth for everyone but us; our traditions, our values, culture, our kinship networks, our humanity.     

National Identities and Mass Belief Systems on Foreign and Security Policy in Germany

The article analyses how German citizens' national identities are linked to their belief systems regarding foreign and security policy. Previous research has pointed out that citizens' belief systems are not unconstrained, but organised hierarchically. Especially domain-specific predispositions have been shown to structure policy attitudes. Against the backdrop of the prominence national history is granted in public discourse, the article argues that in Germany national identities influence both predispositions and attitudes concerning foreign and security policy. Using data from a representative telephone survey of German adults, a structural equation model is used to test this hypothesis. The results show that different types of national identities have distinct effects on domain-specific predispositions and attitudes towards the German participation in the ISAF mission in Afghanistan.     

Czech‐German declaration on reconciliation

The Czech—German declaration, not being a binding treaty, is perceived as a fairly well balanced expression of political will. The cautiously formulated text does not represent a ‘break‐through ‘, but is an important step on the way to reconciliation. It makes the compensation of Czech victims of Nazi crimes possible ‐ the last to be dealt with in Europe. While not closing Sudeten German property demands in legal terms, it expresses the political will of the both sides not to burden mutual relations with issues originating in the past. While economic co‐operation has an excellent record, the declaration may ease bilateral political relations. The Czech Republic, however, will not play a role in German policy comparable to the role of Poland.     

Perception of risks associated with economic sanctions: the case of Russian manufacturing

This paper is focused on assessing the risk factors for Russian manufacturing firms posed by sanctions imposed on Russia by the EU, US, and other countries in 2014. While there is an extensive literature assessing the successes and failures of international sanctions on the economies of both those imposing and targeted by sanctions on a macroeconomic level, we are more interested in trying to understand the corporate response – i.e. which firms evaluate the introduction and increasing scale of economic sanctions as a threat to their corporate strategy, and their possible reactions aimed at adjusting to a changing environment due to the geopolitical shock. Our research, based on a recent survey of manufacturing companies, provides evidence that over the last decade Russian manufacturing firms have become much more integrated into the global economy than is commonly assumed, through foreign direct investment, foreign trade (including imports of both technological equipment and raw materials and components), international partnerships, and by extensively supplying foreign companies that operate in Russia. Considering the self-selection effect of the top-performing firms in terms of foreign trade, we can state that sanctions could prove most harmful not only for the targeted firms, but for the entire population of better-performing and globalized firms involved in foreign trade with the EU and Ukraine. Thus, the impact of the sanctions on the prospects of the Russian manufacturing sector may be very strong over the medium-to-long term.     

Zwischen institutioneller Innovation und Reproduktion

This contribution addresses the question of whether the German corporate governance regime has changed towards the angloamerican corporate governance model in the 1990s. While most approaches within this field of research tend to exclusively focus on functionalist models, this article stresses the impact of power relations on processes of institutional change. Looking at an ambiguous and incremental transformation process, it becomes clear that the dichotomy between continuity and change is not well suited to depict the process adequately. Categories as ?hybridization“ or ?institutional layering“ seem more useful here. While market forces became more important for corporate governance in Germany, traditional mechanisms were — to some extent — reproduced simultaneously. The upshot is a hybrid corporate governance system which is located between coordinated and liberal market economies.     

Mixing Habermas with Bayes: Methodological and Theoretical Advances in the Study of Deliberation

Two challenges stand out in the study of deliberation: the development of appropriate methodological tools and the development of more unified analytical frameworks. On the one hand, analysing deliberative processes is demanding and time‐consuming; hence we tend to have only few and non‐randomly selected cases at the group or context level. In addition, the real world of deliberation presents us with a complex matrix of nested, cross‐classified, and repeated speakers. This article shows that Bayesian multi‐level modelling provides an elegant way to tackle these methodological problems. On the other hand, we attempt to enrich comparative institutionalism with individual characteristics and psychologically relevant variables (such as group composition). Focusing on Swiss and German parliamentary debates we show that institutional factors ‐ in particular, consensus systems ‐, the gender composition of committees and plenary sessions, and age matter for the quality of deliberation. Furthermore, we also show that partisan affiliation ‐ government or opposition status of MPs ‐ affects deliberative quality and can refine institutional arguments. We conclude that a multi‐level approach to deliberation focusing on contextual and actor‐related characteristics and using Bayesian hierarchical modelling paves the way toward a more advanced understanding ‐ and methodological handling ‐ of deliberative processes.     

Taking the bus in 1920s and 1930s Tel Aviv

This article examines the role and effects of the state on the operation of social capital through a case study of Islamic holding companies in Turkey and their social networks within transnational space. In the last two decades, there has been a proliferation of Islamic enterprises, banks and holding companies which formed their own business organization in 1990. The capital outlay of these holding companies was created, without any legal basis, through mobilizing the savings of hundreds of thousands of pious small savers in Turkey and across Europe. While the state actors initially overlooked, at times encouraged, this mobilization of savings, the development of political Islam in the 1990s raised a concern that political Islam along with its economic base and power posed a significant threat to the secularist political regime. Consequently, the secularist state elites actively intervened in both domestic and transnational spheres to disrupt and undermine these networks which provided monetary inflows into these companies. The intervention and campaigns of the state in Turkey and Europe led to bankruptcy of several Islamic holding companies, exposed the mismanagement of fund by some companies and resulted in widespread distrust toward Islamic holding companies among small local and migrant investors.     

Obstructive or promoting? British views on German unification 1989/90

Six years after unification German public opinion still regards Britain as the ‘No‐saying’ nation which not only holds up further European integration but also never really wanted German unity to happen. This article argues that British attitudes to the process of German unification in 1989/90 were more diverse and generally more positive than an undue concentration on the views of Margaret Thatcher and her advisers may suggest. An analysis of Foreign Office policies and an examination of public and published opinion as well as of the debates in both Houses of Parliament reveal a constructive British stance on German unity and a substantial and real contribution of British diplomats to the Two‐plus‐Four process. Whereas the Foreign Office and Downing Street agreed on the major effects German unity would have on Britain's international standing, they differed about the way Britain should respond to the new challenges.     

Between a Rock and a Hard Place: The Grand Coalition's Response to the Economic Crisis

The German grand coalition's track record with regard to managing the financial crisis is mixed. The government has spent enormous amounts of money to prevent a breakdown of the banking system and to cushion the effects of the recession. It was at least partially successful as these programmes indeed prevented collapses of banks as well as bank runs, kept unemployment relatively low and somewhat mitigated the recession. Nonetheless, at least some of the crisis policies lacked coherence, particularly with regard to the bank rescue packages. The reason is that even in the face of a systemic banking crisis and a GDP decline of 5 per cent, programmatic differences between the coalition partners have not disappeared and became manifest in government policies.