Varieties Of Capitalism Theory Research Articles

Individuals' career perceptions in different institutionalized contexts: A comparative study of career actors in liberal, coordinated, hierarchical and mediterranean market economies

AbstractLeveraging Weiner's attribution theory of intrapersonal motivation at the micro level and varieties of capitalism theory at the macro level, we conduct a multi‐country and cross‐level study examining whether individuals' career goals (i.e., perceived importance of learning and development), behaviors (i.e., proactive career behaviors), and outcomes (i.e., perceived employability) as well as the relationships between these variables, differ between different market economies. We challenge extant literature that focuses on the agentic role of individuals and understates the role of context (i.e., market economy influence) in an individual's career development. Using multilevel structural equation modeling, we draw on a survey of 15,201 individuals between 2014 and 2016 from 22 countries representing four different varieties of capitalism. The results showed that workers in hierarchical (HME) and Mediterranean (MME) market economies systematically differed from individuals in coordinated (CME) and liberal (LME) market economies in proactive career behaviors and perceived employability. Moreover, while the positive relationship between perceived importance of learning and development and proactive career behaviors was stronger in CMEs and LMEs compared to HMEs and MMEs, the positive association between proactive career behaviors and perceived employability was weaker. Our study bridges the micro‐macro gap in career studies, adding new insights into the ongoing conversation of contextual influence in individuals' career development.

Varieties of capitalism and renewable energy in emerging and developing economies

ABSTRACT To better understand renewable energy uptake in emergingeconomies, we develop a typology of capitalism for 54 middle-income countries and use Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) to test the Varieties of Capitalism (VoC) theory to illustrate which type of capitalism produced successful or unsuccessful renewables projects in these states. We find that even when the VoC approach is properly specified for developing states, it only explains about 44% of the outcome. Despite this, four causal pathways of combined economic institutions from the VoC theory were found to be sufficient for explaining this phenomenon, but liberal institutions performed poorly in each case.

Expanding the framework of the varieties of capitalism: Turkey as a hierarchical market economy

This article both extends the debate on the varieties of capitalism theory beyond the existing literature to solve the ambiguous position of the variety of capitalism that is found in Turkey and brings a novel approach to the studies of the political economy of Turkey by adopting a firm-centred position using the varieties of capitalism framework. Based on a qualitative comparison with the dependent market economies (DMEs), mixed market economies (MMEs) and hierarchical market economies (HMEs), this article claims that Turkey is a hierarchical market economy with four characteristic features that are also found in Latin American economies. These core features are the dominance of the family-owned diversified business groups, state-regimented and weak industrial relations, low skills and the influence of MNCs.

Conceptualization of energy security in resource-poor economies: The role of the nature of economy

This paper studies how energy security is conceptualized in four resource-poor, advanced island economies: Singapore, South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan. It is found that the energy security conceptualization of the four economies in effect returns to the very original and conventional one: stable and reliable energy supply. However, these economies are different in the level of stability and reliability demanded. Why are they similar in energy security conceptualization whereas different in the level of stability and reliability demanded? Adopting documentation analysis, comparative study, and the varieties of capitalism theory, we find that the nature of economy constitutes the decisive factor that shapes energy security conceptualization. The coordinated market economies (CMEs) are more concerned about energy supply disruption than the liberalized market economies (LMEs). The paper demonstrates that despite numerous energy security concepts in the literature, resource-poor economies still adopt the original and conventional one in practice. The findings suggest that security of supply is the top measure for resource-poor economies to improve their energy security and creating a joint petroleum and LNG market would be desirable for the four economies in this study.

Disentangling patterns of economic, technological and innovative specialization of Western economies: An assessment of the Varieties-of-Capitalism theory on comparative institutional advantages

It is one of the central arguments of the Varieties-of-Capitalism (VoC) literature that national institutions determine comparative advantage. While Liberal Market Economies (LMEs) are said to offer comparative institutional advantages to firms that specialize in high-tech sectors based on radical innovation, Coordinated Market Economies (CMEs) offer advantages to firms specializing in medium-high-tech sectors characterized by incremental innovation. Several studies have tested these claims and arrived at contradictory results about specialization in line with institutional advantages. We argue that undifferentiated conceptualizations of the notion of specialization contribute to these inconclusive results. Based on the insights of the innovation literature on comparative advantage, we therefore disentangle the concepts of 1) economic specialization, 2) technological specialization, and 3) innovative specialization. Our analyses of panel data on exports and patents show that the VoC theory is rather weak in explaining patterns of economic specialization but can account for technological specialization. Furthermore, the VoC literature can hardly explain patterns of innovative specialization.

Explaining Implementation through Varieties of Capitalism Theory: The Case of the Telework and Work‐related Stress Agreements

AbstractDespite extensive literature on the implementation of European ‘soft’ law and Varieties of Capitalism (VoC) theory, no existing work has attempted to explain the implementation of soft law with reference to VoC. In this article, on the basis of a study of the implementation of the non‐legally binding European Telework and Work‐related Stress Agreements in four countries, we attempt to address this gap. Four hypotheses are developed, based on key tenets of VoC theory, which aim to explain divergent national implementation outcomes of the agreements. The predictive power of VoC emerges as mixed. Though a hypothesis concerning the propensity of Coordinated Market Economies (CMEs) to implement the agreements via collective agreements is confirmed, evidence for remaining hypotheses is more ambiguous. Implications for theories of soft law implementation and VoC theory are reflected upon in conclusion.

Varieties of Capitalism and financial cooperation between employers: The initial and continuous vocational training in comparison

According to theorists of Varieties of Capitalism, employers can achieve strong decentralized cooperation on vocational training when there are institutional devices encouraging workers and firms to co-invest in the skill production. Yet numerous European countries, including those where such institutional devices exist, do not rely on ‘spontaneous’ co-investment but operate compulsory training funds and levies which establish obligatory mutualization between employers.The objective of this article is to show that the rationalist theoretical framework of Varieties of Capitalism theory is capable of accounting for such collective financial schemes in the apprenticeship field, but is less suited to capture the compulsory contributions for continuing vocational training.

Varieties of export-oriented entrepreneurship in Asia

This paper explores differences in the proportion of export-oriented early-stage entrepreneurial activity in 12 Asian countries. Drawing on varieties of capitalism theory, we find that Asian countries with high quality institutions are more likely to have higher proportions of young export-oriented firms. However, analysis on a 51 country data set indicates that Asian countries have significantly fewer young export-oriented firms than do non-Asian countries. Furthermore, the multi-country study reveals that countries with higher proportions of export-oriented entrepreneurial activity tend to have flexible industrial relations, high quality vocational training, and confrontational labor-employer relations, however the proportion of export-oriented new ventures is not related to the quality of corporate governance and inter-firm relations.

Coordinated vs. liberal market HRM: the impact of institutionalization on multinational firms

The impact of institutionalized contexts on the HRM activities of multinational firms has become a focus of increasing attention in recent literature. However, theories of how different types of business systems or market economies may influence HRM, and the impact of context on multinational corporations (MNCs) operating under these different conditions are still not fully tested. In this paper the influence of the extent of institutional embeddedness of different national contexts (based on varieties of capitalism theory) on the HRM activities of MNCs is explored through the use of extensive survey data from four countries: the UK, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden. Evidence is found of differences in HRM practices between foreign- and domestic-owned MNCs, as well as between MNCs and domestic organizations. Although less than expected, the restricted amount of leeway within a coordinated economy also appears to have differential effects on the various HRM practices explored in these foreign and domestic organizations.

Human resource management and performance in European firms

We develop a theoretical framework to examine three hypotheses on the relationship between human resource management (HRM) practices and organisational performance in European firms. The first is that collaborative forms of HRM practice are more strongly associated with superior firm performance than calculative forms. The second is that these associations are strongest where national institutional and normative settings support them. The third is that employer– employee consultative committees and collective payment methods are also associated with superior firm performance. The first two propositions are strongly empirically supported, as is the third, albeit more weakly. The implications of the findings for European policy and Varieties of Capitalism theory are discussed.

The Varieties of Capitalism and Hybrid Success

The varieties of capitalism literature maintains that advanced capitalist countries whose institutions best fit either the liberal or coordinated market economy types will perform better than countries whose institutions are mixed. This is because hybrids are less likely to yield functionally beneficial institutional complementarities. The authors challenge this assertion. Denmark has performed as well as many purer cases during the 1990s. And Denmark has recently developed a more hybrid form than is generally recognized by (a) increasing the exposure of actors to market forces and (b) decentralizing collective learning and decision making. The institutional complementarities associated with such hybridization have contributed to its success; however, these complementarities are based on institutional heterogeneity rather than homogeneity. This is demonstrated by analyses of three cases: Danish labor markets, vocational training, and industrial policy. The implication of the authors’ argument is that the varieties of capitalism theory is logically flawed.