AbstractIt is a central claim of the national competitiveness literature that firms exploit the comparative advantages of their environment by choosing to pursue the product market strategy that is facilitated by national financial- and labour-market institutions. Other­wise, so goes the...

The literatures on 'varieties of capitalism' (VoC) and 'national innovation systems' (NIS) propose very similar arguments about how firms require different types of labour qualifications to pursue strategies of radical product innovation (RPI), incremental product innovation (IPI), and product...

This book examines how firms adapt to the pressures of increasing international competition by testing the arguments on 'strategy specialization' proposed in the competitiveness literature in general, and by contributors to the 'varieties of capitalism' debate in particular. If different...

As economic internationalization advances, the question of how firms cope with increasing pressure for competitiveness gains momentum. While scholars agree that firms need a competitive advantage, they debate whether firms exploit the comparative advantage of their economy and converge on that...

It is a central claim of the national competitiveness literature that firms exploit the comparative advantages of their environment by choosing to pursue the product market strategy that is facilitated by national financial- and labour-market institutions. Otherwise, so goes the argument, firms...

In contrast to the US and recently Europe, Japan appears to be unsuccessful in establishing new industries. An oft-cited example is Japan's practical invisibility in the global business software sector. Literature has ascribed Japan's weakness - or conversely, America's strength - to the...

Open labour markets are often seen as a precondition for innovation, particularly for new industries. However, this view ignores two core findings of the economic systems literature: first, that mobility patterns are institutional microsystems that need to be complementary to other institutions...

This illuminating book broadly addresses the emerging field of ‘diversity of capitalism’ from a comparative institutional approach. It explores the varied patterns for achieving coordination in different economic systems, applying them specifically to China, Japan and South Korea....

This illuminating book broadly addresses the emerging field of ‘diversity of capitalism’ from a comparative institutional approach. It explores the varied patterns for achieving coordination in different economic systems, applying them specifically to China, Japan and South Korea....

In this introduction, we review the arguments that underpin the rationale for the special section, and provide a structured sequence for the contents of the six selected papers that comprise the section.