Beyond the German Model of Capitalism: Unorthodox Local Business Development in the Cologne Media Industry

Abstract

On the basis of a media firm-survey and the measurement of in-town enterprise concentration, this paper explains the extraordinary sub-sectoral specialization and the spatial concentration towards radio and television in a German city: Cologne. A peculiar mix of institutional support, typical of German capitalism and unorthodox deviance from such arrangements is discovered in all matters of collective goods provision, including vocational training, enterprise financing, etc. Using a case study-approach, this article shows how the German model of capitalism can be rearranged for new markets on the local level, successfully overcoming institutional constraints by informal cooperation and institutional entrepreneurship.

Acknowledgements

Research for this paper has been financed by the Volkswagen-Foundation through the Project “Beyond Rigidities of National Innovation and Production Systems—‘Productive Incoherences’ in the Governance of Local Economies” (Innovation Processes in Economy and Society). The author would also like to thank all members of the project for their comments and support, however in particular the supervisors Colin Crouch and Helmut Voelzkow. For helpful comments the author is also indebted to Josh Whitford and two anonymous referees. Finally, the author would like to thank Daniel Weber for his valuable support in carrying out the survey and Alexandra Patin for editorial assistance.