IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/zbw/mpifgw/0210.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The transformation of corporate governance in France and Germany: The role of workplace institutions

Author

Listed:
  • Goyer, Michel

Abstract

This paper examines the process of refocusing on core competencies by large French and German firms. I compare two theories of comparative corporate governance on the question of refocusing: functional convergence and national institutionalist perspective. The empirical evidence presented in this paper points to two nationally specific patterns of change that do not meet fully the prediction of either perspective. Large French and German companies have changed but in different ways without experiencing any process of convergence. The differences in the process of refocusing in France and Germany are measured on three dimensions: speed of dismantling of conglomerates, adoption of financial transparency, and recourse to redundancies. I argue that the institutional arrangements of workplace organization constitute the critical variable accounting for the differences in the pattern of change in the two countries. In particular, the institutional arrangements of the organization of the shop floor provide management with constraints and opportunities to conduct the business strategy of the firm.

Suggested Citation

  • Goyer, Michel, 2002. "The transformation of corporate governance in France and Germany: The role of workplace institutions," MPIfG Working Paper 02/10, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:mpifgw:0210
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/44262/1/644400846.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Berger, Philip G & Ofek, Eli, 1996. "Bustup Takeovers of Value-Destroying Diversified Firms," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 51(4), pages 1175-1200, September.
    2. Marsden, David, 1999. "A Theory of Employment Systems: Micro-Foundations of Societal Diversity," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198294221.
    3. Michael C. Jensen, 2010. "The Modern Industrial Revolution, Exit, and the Failure of Internal Control Systems," Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Morgan Stanley, vol. 22(1), pages 43-58, January.
    4. Andrei Shleifer & Lawrence H. Summers, 1988. "Breach of Trust in Hostile Takeovers," NBER Chapters, in: Corporate Takeovers: Causes and Consequences, pages 33-68, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Milgrom, Paul & Roberts, John, 1994. "Complementarities and systems: Understanding japanese economic organization," Estudios Económicos, El Colegio de México, Centro de Estudios Económicos, vol. 9(1), pages 3-42.
    6. Marino Regini, 2000. "Between Deregulation and Social Pacts: The Responses of European Economies to Globalization," Politics & Society, , vol. 28(1), pages 5-33, March.
    7. Whittington, Richard & Mayer, Michael, 2000. "The European Corporation: Strategy, Structure, and Social Science," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199242085.
    8. Streeck, Wolfgang, 2001. "The transformation of corporate organization in Europe: An overview," MPIfG Working Paper 01/8, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies.
    9. Michel Bauer & Elie Cohen, 1985. "Les Grandes manoeuvres industrielles," Post-Print hal-03567135, HAL.
    10. Comment, Robert & Jarrell, Gregg A., 1995. "Corporate focus and stock returns," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 67-87, January.
    11. Mark J. Roe, 1997. "The Political Roots Of American Corporate Finance," Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Morgan Stanley, vol. 9(4), pages 8-22, January.
    12. Gareth P. Dyas & Heinz T. Thanheiser, 1976. "The Emerging European Enterprise," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-1-349-02515-2.
    13. Richard M. Locke & Kathleen Thelen, 1995. "Apples and Oranges Revisited: Contextualized Comparisons and the Study of Comparative Labor Politics," Politics & Society, , vol. 23(3), pages 337-367, September.
    14. David S. Scharfstein, 1998. "The Dark Side of Internal Capital Markets II: Evidence from Diversified Conglomerates," NBER Working Papers 6352, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    15. Milgrom, Paul & Roberts, John, 1990. "The Economics of Modern Manufacturing: Technology, Strategy, and Organization," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 80(3), pages 511-528, June.
    16. Servaes, Henri, 1996. "The Value of Diversification during the Conglomerate Merger Wave," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 51(4), pages 1201-1225, September.
    17. Joel Rogers & Wolfgang Streeck, 1995. "Works Councils: Consultation, Representation, and Cooperation in Industrial Relations," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number roge95-1, March.
    18. Hall, Peter A. & Taylor, Rosemary C. R., 1996. "Political science and the three new institutionalisms," MPIfG Discussion Paper 96/6, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Anne Tempel & Peter Walgenbach, 2007. "Global Standardization of Organizational Forms and Management Practices? What New Institutionalism and the Business‐Systems Approach Can Learn from Each Other," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(1), pages 1-24, January.
    2. Ronald Dore, 2005. "Deviant or Different? Corporate Governance in Japan and Germany," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 13(3), pages 437-446, May.
    3. Höpner, Martin, 2003. "European corporate governance reform and the German party paradox," MPIfG Discussion Paper 03/4, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies.
    4. Vitols, Sigurt, 2003. "Negotiated shareholder value: The German version of an Anglo-American practice," Discussion Papers, Research Unit: Institutions, States, Markets SP II 2003-25, WZB Berlin Social Science Center.
    5. Lütz, Susanne, 2003. "Convergence within National Diversity: A Comparative Perspective on the Regulatory State in Finance," MPIfG Discussion Paper 03/7, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Campa, Jose M. & Chang, P. H. Kevin & Refalo, James F., 2002. "An options-based analysis of emerging market exchange rate expectations: Brazil's Real Plan, 1994-1999," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(1), pages 227-253, October.
    2. Martin, John D. & Sayrak, Akin, 2003. "Corporate diversification and shareholder value: a survey of recent literature," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 9(1), pages 37-57, January.
    3. Jandik, Tomas & Makjija, Anil K., 2004. "Can Diversification Create Value? Evidence from the Electric Utility Industry," Working Paper Series 2005-7, Ohio State University, Charles A. Dice Center for Research in Financial Economics.
    4. Doukas, John A. & Kan, Ozgur B., 2008. "Investment decisions and internal capital markets: Evidence from acquisitions," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 32(8), pages 1484-1498, August.
    5. Jose Manuel Campa & Simi Kedia, 2002. "Explaining the Diversification Discount," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 57(4), pages 1731-1762, August.
    6. Mitchell Berlin, 1999. "Jack of all trades? Product diversification in nonfinancial firms," Business Review, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, issue May, pages 15-29.
    7. Randall S. Kroszner & Philip E. Strahan, 1999. "Bankers on Boards: Monitoring, Conflicts of Interest, and Lender Liability," NBER Working Papers 7319, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. Claessens, Constantijn A. & Djankov, Simeon & Joseph P. H. Fan & Lang, Larry H. P., 1998. "Diversification and efficiency of investment by East Asian corporations," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2033, The World Bank.
    9. Stijn Claessens & Simeon Djankov & Joseph P. H. Fan & Larry H. P. Lang, 2001. "The Pattern and Valuation Effects of Corporate Diversification: A Comparison of the United States, Japan, and Other East Asian Economies," WIDER Working Paper Series DP2001-127, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    10. Kang, Jun-Koo & Shivdasani, Anil, 1997. "Corporate restructuring during performance declines in Japan," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(1), pages 29-65, October.
    11. Villalonga, Belen, 2000. "Does Diversification Cause the “Diversification Discount”?," University of California at Los Angeles, Anderson Graduate School of Management qt40v212gm, Anderson Graduate School of Management, UCLA.
    12. Hellwig, Martin, 2000. "Corporate governance and the financing of investment for structural change," Papers 00-32, Sonderforschungsbreich 504.
    13. Martynova, M. & Renneboog, L.D.R., 2005. "Takeover Waves : Triggers, Performance and Motives," Discussion Paper 2005-029, Tilburg University, Tilburg Law and Economic Center.
    14. Claessens, Stijn & Djankov, Simeon & Fan, Joseph P. H. & Lang, Larry H. P., 2003. "When does corporate diversification matter to productivity and performance? Evidence from East Asia," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 11(3), pages 365-392, July.
    15. David J. Denis & Diane K. Denis & Keven Yost, 2002. "Global Diversification, Industrial Diversification, and Firm Value," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 57(5), pages 1951-1979, October.
    16. Lamont, Owen A. & Polk, Christopher, 2002. "Does diversification destroy value? Evidence from the industry shocks," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(1), pages 51-77, January.
    17. Robert Boyer, 2005. "What future for codetermination and corporate governance in Germany?," PSE Working Papers halshs-00590710, HAL.
    18. Bushman, Robert & Chen, Qi & Engel, Ellen & Smith, Abbie, 2004. "Financial accounting information, organizational complexity and corporate governance systems," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 37(2), pages 167-201, June.
    19. Erik Berglof & Ernst-Ludwig von Thadden, 1999. "The Changing Corporate Governance Paradigm: Implications for Transition and Developing Countries," William Davidson Institute Working Papers Series 263, William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan.
    20. Goto, Mika & Low, Angie & Makhija, Anil K., 2008. "Diversification, Productivity, and Financial Constraints Empirical Evidence from the US Electric Utility Industry," Working Paper Series 2008-3, Ohio State University, Charles A. Dice Center for Research in Financial Economics.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:zbw:mpifgw:0210. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/mpigfde.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.