Orfeo Fioretos, "The International Regulation of Corporate Identity in Europe," Comparative Political Studies 42 (9) 2009: 1167-1192.
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Rules governing the corporate identity of multinational companies are national in nature, with the one of exception of the European Company Statute. For the first time in the history of capitalism, this statute enables companies to jettison national rules of incorporation in favor of an international legal identity. This article explains why the statute was the most protracted legislative initiative in the history of European integration and why its final form served to significantly constrain the international market for corporate identity in Europe. Its explanations are anchored in an institutional theory of government behavior that draws on the varieties of capitalism and historical institutionalism traditions. The article concludes with suggestions for how these traditions can give analytical and substantive nuance to the future study of international rule-making.
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Rules governing the corporate identity of multinational companies are national in nature, with the one of exception of the European Company Statute. For the first time in the history of capitalism, this statute enables companies to jettison national rules of incorporation in favor of an international legal identity. This article explains why the statute was the most protracted legislative initiative in the history of European integration and why its final form served to significantly constrain the international market for corporate identity in Europe. Its explanations are anchored in an institutional theory of government behavior that draws on the varieties of capitalism and historical institutionalism traditions. The article concludes with suggestions for how these traditions can give analytical and substantive nuance to the future study of international rule-making.