RUHR FIRMS BETWEEN DYNAMIC CHANGE AND STRUCTURAL PERSISTENCE - GLOBALIZATION, THE GERMAN MODEL AND REGIONAL PLACE-DEPENDENCE

This paper(1) investigates recent restructuring strategies of medium-s ized firms in the Ruhr area, and assesses the role of institutional, o rganizational and socio-economic factors in shaping their strategic re sponses to economic change. By pointing out the extent to which embedd edness in different political-economic contexts constrains the expansi on of organizational space, it is argued that medium-sized firms respo nd by falling back on routinized, predominantly regional, interaction structures. 'Embedding' and cooperation are, however, constrained by m arket forces and competitive pressures, which manifest themselves in v arious governance dilemmas. Solving these dilemmas between institution al persistence and 'economic imperatives' constitutes a major organiza tional challenge for the sample firms.