The European treaties allowed the European Union to be seen more as a political and economic area and less as a space with a common culture and values. However, in order to become a member state of this community, every country should respect such values as democracy, the rule of law, individual...

In this paper I argue that quality standards, products standards, and quality classes influence the priority that firms give to different product developments. These standards may be viewed as institutions in the sense of shared rules of behavior or codes. They have become shared because there...