Varieties of capitalism vs. varieties of ‘soft regulatory’ theories. a discussion on the case of Intangibles Reporting in Japan and Germany

The purpose of this chapter follows from the aforementioned observations. First, it is hoped that the chapter will in some way contribute to the expansion of the debate of IR toward international political and social dimensions. Second, it is hoped that the findings here attained could pave the way for a possible enrichment of intangibles regulatory studies by demonstrating if, and to what extent, accounting “soft” regulatory theories could be adopted, adjusted or confuted in terms of intangibles reporting. To meet these objectives, the chapter examines the possibilities of the existence of IR in terms of rationales, processes and consequences.