 Ana Maria Evans, Preemptive Modernization and the Politics of Sectoral Defense: Adjustment to Globalization in the Portuguese Pharmacy Sector Small firms in the Portuguese pharmacy sector have adjusted remarkably well to regional economic integration, in contrast to the response of other small retailers to the challenges of political and economic liberalization. It is possible for old sectors of small firms to adjust to globalization and preserve individual ownership through an extended politics of sectoral defense. Key strategic elements and institutional preconditions make this politics possible. The article draws on field research on the pharmacy and food retail sectors in Portugal and theoretical analyses on neocorporatism, the third Italy, and varieties of capitalism. |