Localizing Geoeconomics: How German EITE Firms Adapt to the New Global Interventionism

This article examines how local firms respond to emerging geo-economic pressures and disruptions shaped by shifting trade regimes, resource competition, and strategic state intervention. Drawing on political economy and organizational sociology, it argues that businesses are not passive recipients of global geo-economic dynamics but adaptive actors navigating uncertainty. The empirical focus is on energy and resource intensive, trade exposed (EITE) industries, a sector that has seen significant state intervention in the shape of industrial policy, reshoring measures or other efforts. The study compares multiple companies in Germany using mixed qualitative data gathered from interviews, ethnographic fieldwork, and policy document analysis. Results show variation in strategic adjustment, from diversification and supply-chain restructuring to risk buffering. The article contributes to geo-economics research by foregrounding firm-level behavior, a perspective often overlooked in the pertinent literature on energy geoeconomics.