It was providing context which some people may find useful.
The article, rather than being a strictly historical treatise, is taking the bait to propagate some narratives about the motivations behind why these companies do business the way they do.
Reframe "family values" as "paying less" and see where you land on a critical appraisal.
Reframe "rooted in a region" as follows: Being a relatively large fish in a relatively small pond is often strategically preferable to being a relatively small fish in a relatively big pond, if your strategy involves regulatory capture of local government and the formation of a cartel with the handful of other Mittelstand employers in a region that otherwise doesn't have much going on.
Reframe "excellence in crafts" as "keeping out the competition".
I've seen all of these bullshit narratives getting spun, and all of these mechanisms at play, over the last 7 years, having lived in two separate such regions in Germany. It is a scent of bullshit that is very well known to me. When I see other people in danger of being misled, I will say something, just as I will say "watch out", when I see someone about to get hit by a car.
The article, rather than being a strictly historical treatise, is taking the bait to propagate some narratives about the motivations behind why these companies do business the way they do.
Reframe "family values" as "paying less" and see where you land on a critical appraisal.
Reframe "rooted in a region" as follows: Being a relatively large fish in a relatively small pond is often strategically preferable to being a relatively small fish in a relatively big pond, if your strategy involves regulatory capture of local government and the formation of a cartel with the handful of other Mittelstand employers in a region that otherwise doesn't have much going on.
Reframe "excellence in crafts" as "keeping out the competition".
I've seen all of these bullshit narratives getting spun, and all of these mechanisms at play, over the last 7 years, having lived in two separate such regions in Germany. It is a scent of bullshit that is very well known to me. When I see other people in danger of being misled, I will say something, just as I will say "watch out", when I see someone about to get hit by a car.