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Explaining the dealings of Dutch SMEs with potential legal problems: a plea for a theory-driven approach1

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2012

M. T. Croes
M. T. Croes*
Affiliation:
Scientific Research and Documentation Centre of the Dutch Ministry of Safety and Justice
*
m.t.croes@minjus.nl
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Abstract

The previous decade has seen a wealth of studies into the potential legal problems of citizens, problems that could have or did result in legal procedures. Although this has greatly enhanced our understanding of the kinds of difficulties that citizens experience and the frequency with which this happens, some important topics have received little attention. This is especially true for the explanation of the chances that people have or the choices they make regarding the problems they face. In part, this is the result of the chosen approach, which was aimed at description and lacked the rigour needed for explanation. In this article, I will argue that in order to make progress regarding these topics, it is necessary to use a theory-driven approach. What a theory-driven approach is and what such an approach would look like when applied to the paths to justice field, is demonstrated with regard to the way in which small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs, companies with less than 100 employees) in the Netherlands deal with potential legal problems (Croes & Maas, 2009).

Type
Articles
Information
International Journal of Law in Context , Volume 9 , Issue 2 , June 2013 , pp. 239 - 261
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012 

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Footnotes

1

This paper has been presented at the workshop Current Socio-Legal Perspective on Dispute Resolution of the IISL, Onati, Spain, 8–9 July 2010.

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