The concept of social fields and the productive models: Two examples from the European automobile industry

摘要

The article examines the possibilities of the combination of the concept of social fields, which was developed by the French Sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, and the concept of the Productive Models, which was developed by the French Regulation School. It is the aim to give a better understanding of the activities of the different groups of agents within the capitalist enterprise, and to look for the chances and risks of single firms to change their strategy of production. A case study dealing with the two European automobile producers, VW and Renault, tests the combination of both methodological concepts on an empirical level. The question is, whether one specific economic and political context of these activities can be designated as Rhenish Capitalism.