The export of varieties of capitalism: the cases of Wal-Mart and IKEA

Book synopsis: In response to global and technological challenges, this important book highlights the continuing diversity of national institutional reconfigurations and policy reforms from an institutional economics perspective. The distinguished contributors offer a fresh and critical appraisal of three interconnected fields of research; varieties of capitalism, the new economy and new institutional deals. They discuss comparative institutional systems, institutional state and policy reform strategies, and the further development of evolutionary-institutional economic theory.This work illustrates that capitalist market economies remain persistently diverse, in spite of similar global, technological, informational, and organisational challenges. The complex character of socio-economies thus has come to the fore and, the contributors argue, causes path-dependent, open-ended and diverse reconfigurations. Dual typologies of 'market-led' vs. 'coordinated' economies, therefore, seem to be too general to reflect these different patterns. Also, diverse firms' forms, particularly MNEs as international cultural diffusion mechanisms, and 'empire' type systems are explored. This book will undoubtedly become a benchmark for the analysis of comparative institutional systems. Its appeal will be to heterodox, institutional and evolutionary economists as well as practitioners interested in policy and institutional reforms