ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the institutional heterogeneity of Europe as a market area by building on complementary streams of literature on the subject. It also discusses how research on comparative institutional analysis has approached this topic, and how it has attempted to capture the socio-political heterogeneity of European countries. The chapter considers the features and implications of this heterogeneity from an organisational point of view, seeking to provide a more fine-grained understanding of how firms may evaluate appropriate locations for their activities within Europe. It also considers what the differences in European locations imply for multinational firms, not only in terms of maximising profits, but also in their endeavours to fulfil the role of a good citizen in a given host country. The chapter explains that there is a need for a better understanding of the multi-level effects and relationship dynamics between different socio-political systems and interpretation systems at firm level. It concludes by considering some questions related to the issues.
