The social regulation of inter-firm relations in Britain and Germany: market rules, legal norms and technical standards

Abstract

An analysis of institutionalised rule systems, particularly of technical standards, traces their effects on various aspects of supplier relations in Britain and Germany and attempts some evaluation of performance outcomes. Drawing on the insights of New Institutionalism in economics and sociology, it is shown that the higher degree of stability and consistency in systems of social regulation in Germany, as compared with Britain, leads to more predictable and consensual relations between firms. The resulting development of greater mutual trust encourages more long-term and closer technological collaboration. The paper utilises data from a recent comparative study of supplier relations in two traditional industries and supplements them with information from more general studies of the technical regulation of inter-firm relations.