Exploring the role of voluntary business associations on borrowed institutionalism in regional development: insights from the case of Kayseri in Turkiye


Tuysuz S., Varol Özden Ç., Çiçek İ.

EURASIAN GEOGRAPHY AND ECONOMICS, 2023 (SSCI) identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Publication Date: 2023
  • Doi Number: 10.1080/15387216.2023.2220341
  • Journal Name: EURASIAN GEOGRAPHY AND ECONOMICS
  • Journal Indexes: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, ABI/INFORM, Agricultural & Environmental Science Database, American Bibliography of Slavic & Eastern European Studies (ABSEES), Business Source Elite, Business Source Premier, EconLit, Geobase, Index Islamicus, Public Affairs Index, DIALNET
  • Gazi University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

Institutional and cultural traditions, usually shaped by non-economic factors, help to reduce the transaction costs of firms, particularly the costs of knowledge transfer. This study attempts to explain the effects of non-economic factors over voluntary business associations (BAs) and highlight the concept of "borrowed institutionalism" to illustrate the constructive and destructive power of BAs in their use of their relationships with the political establishment for their members. In Turkiye, BAs are not only economic actors but are also embedded in social forms that contain secular or conservative characteristics. While, the structures of these associations that operate within various ideologies can contribute to the institutional setting, they can also hinder the economic potential of a region by developing love or hate relations with the respective political structures. This forms the basis of the concept of "borrowed institutionalism" introduced in this study. Kayseri, which is one of Turkiye's successful production centers with its unique socio-political characteristics, and predominantly home to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) appears to be a critical case to analyze the role of BAs. The findings from Kayseri case study support the idea that both secular and conservative forms of BAs can cyclically be constructive or destructive for their members and create borrowed institutionalism based on non-inclusive institutionalism.