Non-identical reproduction of comparative characteristics
Once we have acknowledged the dialectic tension between culture and
institutions, actors and systems, we go beyond the ‘comparative statics’ inherent
in business system thinking. This brings us to the third tenet, which is concerned
with the dynamics inherent in business systems. Comparative statics presume
an equilibrium which systemic arrangements strive towards. Dynamics however
imply disequilibrium, i.e. the unsettling and decoupling of associations inher-
ent to business system types. In such a dynamic perspective, a new equilibrium
emerges. But dynamics do not boil down to everything changing in a haphaz-
ard, totally unpredictable fashion. Next to change there is always continuity,
and the two are ingeniously intertwined. Continuity means that previous char-
acteristics are reproduced in novel forms. This leads us to define the reproduction
of characteristics on every dimension mentioned, and their interrelations, as
non-identical. Let us take a simple example. Until the mid-1960s, the prevalence
of greater numbers of skilled workers in German factories went hand in hand
with much more restrictive access to selective secondary education; more young
people went into apprenticeships, rather than going to selective secondary
schools. In France, access to selective general education was more generous, but
fewer people went into apprenticeships or vocational education.
The example may be taken to imply that, if selective secondary education
in Germany is expanded, this will mean greater convergence with French
patterns, and a concomitant reduction of apprenticeship as a major socializing
arrangement. That would have been change, but comparatively static change
and not dynamic change. But things do not only work in a comparatively
static way, which is evidenced by the fact that what happened in Germany was
different. What Germany got was an increase in secondary education before
apprenticeship, such that growing numbers of ex-grammar school and
secondary modern or secondary technical school (Realschule) graduates took up
apprenticeships. The change was that the sharpness of the ‘choice’ between
selective education and apprenticeship training had been reduced, but earlier
patterns had been reasserted, since apprenticeship continued to be an attrac-
tive education and training choice. Change and continuity are thus united in
the non-identical reproduction of previous patterns. And this is what we tend
to find in other instances of change in other settings too.
Let us consider parallel developments in France. It has greatly increased
the status and quantity of vocational education, but mainly by upgrading voca-
tional schools and diplomas. It has made vocational education more attractive
by giving it baccalauréat(exam and diploma to certify successful termination of
selective secondary education) status, and other measures. But training by
apprenticeship has continued to dwindle. Thus, France has also changed
significantly. But it has asserted the particularity of its own education and
training arrangements in a way which is parallel to Germany and nevertheless
different.
Cross-national Differences in Human Resources 135