Elaborate variability-control distinguishes the Sicilian mafia from mainland firms.

Evidence

But in such a world these variations are to be expected. It is the overwhelming evidence of elaborate attempts to control such variability which is the most outstanding trait of the Sicilian mafia since the Second World War. No attempt to follow the same course-at least no successful attempt-was made by firms in the southern regions of the Continent, where a state of warfare seems endemic. — Diego Gambetta, The Sicilian Mafia The Business of…, 655

Categorization

• XREF: The contrast between Sicily’s successful variability-control and the mainland’s endemic warfare supports the thesis that unified reputation/trademark governance prevents violent competition — relevant to the reader’s private-enforcement comparison.