A Republican Settlement Theory of the Firm: Applied to Retail Banks in England and the Netherlands (1830-2007)

The ability to take a leading role in democratic settlements largely shapes a firm’s long term success. A key requirement to occupying such a leading role is the creation of a platform for the execution of democratic principles by customers, shareholders, societal stakeholders, and political actors: the impossibility to dominate others, and the possibility of rivalry and dissent. After careful analysis of the strategies followed by Dutch and English banks, I conclude that building such a platform implies the development of six strategic abilities. Internationally, firms’ ability to take a lead... Mehr ...