Rhenish Capitalism: New Insights from a Business History Perspective

by Christian Marx (Editor), Morten Reitmayer (Editor)

Overview

Rhenish capitalism is an ideal-typical model of capitalism which is characterised by a bank-centered financing system, close economic ties between banks and companies, a balance of power between shareholders and management, and a social partnership between unions and employers. The West German economy of the 1950s to the 1980s is the prime example of that model of capitalism which contrasts with the liberal Anglo-Saxon forms of capitalism. In accordance with recent debates about Varieties of Capitalism, the authors argue that research on capitalism should pay more attention to change over time. The book also claims to put the firm into the centre of analysis.

The empirical contributions uncover the differences between French and German corporate governance practices comparing two European automobile producers (VW and Renault), analyse legal debates and practices of corporate control in post-war Germany, show the tension between national corporate governance and increasing internationalisation by reference to four major West German producers of chemicals, pharmaceuticals and fibres; and explore the opportunities encountered by German big banks vis-à-vis their customers from big industry. Furthermore, they show that coordinating culture in the supply relationship of the German automobile industry came under pressure at the end of the boom and stress the importance of communication processes as a basis for interest coordination in Rhenish capitalism.

The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of the journal Business History.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781032193175
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	01/29/2024
Pages:	186
Product dimensions:	6.88(w) x 9.69(h) x (d)

About the Author

Christian Marx is Researcher at the Leibniz Institute for Contemporary History in Munich, Germany, where he is working on a collective biography of the top management of the German central bank (Deutsche Bundesbank) in the two post-war decades.

Morten Reitmayer is Researcher and Supernumerary Professor of Modern and Contemporary History at the University of Trier, Germany.

Table of Contents

Preface Introduction: Rhenish capitalism and business history 1. The concept of social fields and the productive models: Two examples from the European automobile industry 2. Corporate law and corporate control in West Germany after 1945 3. Between national governance and the internationalisation of business. The case of four major West German producers of chemicals, pharmaceuticals and fibres, 1945–2000 4. Financing Rhenish capitalism: ‘bank power’ and the business of crisis management in the 1960s and 1970s 5. Supplier relations within the German automobile industry. The case of Daimler-Benz, 1950–1980 6. Confrontational coordination: The rearrangement of public relations in the automotive industry during the 1970s