Transferring Rhineland capitalism to the Polish-German border: Perceptions of bank governance and practice in Zgorzelec-Görlitz

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to look at the past development and potential of the Rhenish capitalist governance “model”. The origins and nature of the model are to be discussed. The aim is to focus on its specific role within the transformation processes of Central-Eastern European economies. East-Central Europe is where, it is contended, Rhineland capitalism's future will be decided. Design/methodology/approach – Using a survey questionnaire, customers' perceptions of bank governance and practice in the Polish-German city of Zgorzelec-Görlitz are explored. The experience of Dresdner Bank is stressed and the fact that the local people not long before lived under a Socialist regime. A control group in London is used to ascertain the presence of German management traditions as opposed to Anglo-American approaches to management in the context of retail bank markets. In total there were 210 participants in the survey (all equally divided between the three cities). Findings – German and Polish respondents mostly rejected co-determination and favored top-down management. Germans seem to make trust and loyalty a major factor in their retail banking decisions while Polish seemed more open to American style marketing. The findings support the hypothesis about the long-term viability of Rhinish capitalism. Originality/value – The paper ascertains that the presence of German management traditions as opposed to Anglo-American approaches to management in the context of retail bank markets in a border region is dominant.