ABSTRACT
In comparative perspective, the consensus-oriented political system of Germany is not susceptible to radical policy shifts. Constancy and continuity are also key features of the German economic system, which in the past was regarded as a role model for other nations.1 Institutional stability may be attributed to high coherence of the institutional configuration.2 But today, in the face of an internationalised and thus more competitive world economy and the additional economic problems related to German unification, institutional stability is more often interpreted as a burden than as an advantage. In 1997, the expression Reformstau (reform jam) was voted ‘word of the year’, due to its frequent use in political debate. Reforms seemed to be impossible although most citizens perceived them as necessary. Nevertheless, there are fields of substantial change that do not fit the image of it being gradual at best in Germany. The sphere of corporate governance turned out to be highly dynamic in Germany, undergoing rapid changes towards market orientation in the 1990s after several decades of institutional stability. How was this possible?
