Paradox of Belgian capitalism

What structural changes are needed within Belgian capitalism?
Why are there fewer companies in Belgium that have grown to an international dimension than in the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland? Why, as is so often stated, are Belgian companies less inclined to invest in marketing? How is it that the great export orientation of the Belgian economy is mainly realised by the foreign companies that have established themselves here? Why has the strategic reorientation of the financial sector dragged on for so long? Why do the takeovers of Belgian companies create so much uncertainty about the strategic future of the Belgian economy? How is it that there are fewer high-tech start-ups in Belgium than in the American state of Massachusetts, which is geographically and economically smaller than Belgium?
Herman Daems examines these and many other questions in his new book. In ten essayistic chapters he investigates why Belgian companies have a good profitability, but find it much more difficult to achieve strategic dynamics. After the battle for the Generale Bank, this book is a particularly topical contribution to the debate on whether Belgian and Flemish companies can still play an international role and which structural changes within Belgian capitalism are necessary to achieve this.