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Pieter Bouwen - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • Lobbying versus litigation: political and legal strategies of Interest Representation in the European Union
    Journal of European Public Policy, 2007
    Co-Authors: Pieter Bouwen, Margaret Mccown
    Abstract:

    Abstract Interest groups' many and varied attempts to influence EU public policy are well documented. Research on EU Interest politics has made considerable progress in the analysis of both the access and voice strategies they use as they seek to influence the policy process. Other scholars have focused on the legal strategies that private actors deploy when they endeavour to shape public policy by bringing cases before the ECJ. Although both lobbying and litigation strategies have been well studied in the context of European integration and are, in principle, available to most business Interest groups, few scholars have asked what determines actors' selection of one or the other in their pursuit of policy change. This paper attempts to bridge these two strands of research and theory by offering a framework in which private actors' choice between lobbying and litigation can be understood and hypotheses about their behaviour derived.

  • the logic of access to the european parliament business lobbying in the committee on economic and monetary affairs
    Journal of Common Market Studies, 2004
    Co-Authors: Pieter Bouwen
    Abstract:

    This article is an attempt to test empirically a theory of access that investigates the logic behind the lobbying behaviour of business Interests in the European Parliament. The theoretical framework tries to explain the degree of access of different organizational forms of business Interest Representation (companies, associations and consultants) to the supranational assembly in terms of a theory of the supply and demand of 'access goods'. On the basis of 14 exploratory and 27 semi-structured interviews, the hypotheses are checked in the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) of the European Parliament. Surprisingly, European and national associations enjoy a similar degree of access to the Parliament. Individual companies and consultants have a much lower degree of access than the two collective forms of Interest Representation. In the conclusion, these results are analysed in the light of the existing literature on party cohesion and coalition formation in the European Parliament.

  • exchanging access goods for access a comparative study of business lobbying in the european union institutions
    European Journal of Political Research, 2004
    Co-Authors: Pieter Bouwen
    Abstract:

    The aim of this article is to test empirically a theory of access that investigates the logic behind the apparent ad hoc lobbying behavior of business Interests in the European Union (EU) multi-level system. First, a theoretical framework is set out that attempts to explain the access of different organizational forms of business Interest Representation - companies, associations and consultants - to the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers. The degree of access to these institutions is explained in terms of a theory of the supply and demand of access goods. Access goods concern information that is crucial in the EU policy-making process. In return for access to an EU institution, business Interests have to provide the access good(s) demanded by that institution. A number of specific hypotheses about access are analyzed in an extensive empirical study of the EU financial services sector. On the basis of 126 exploratory and semi-structured interviews, the hypotheses are checked across the three EU institutions.

  • The Democratic Legitimacy of Business Interest Representation in the European Union: Normative Implications of the Logic of Access
    SSRN Electronic Journal, 2003
    Co-Authors: Pieter Bouwen
    Abstract:

    This paper studies the capacity of business Interests to contribute to the democratic legitimacy of EU governance through participation in the EU policy-making process. Whereas the unbalanced participation of business as opposed to non-business Interests in EU policy-making has been problematized, no research has been conducted regarding the unequal participation of different organizational forms of business Interest Representation (companies, associations and consultants). Here, first it is argued on the basis of a theory of access that this unequal participation has important repercussions because the different organizational forms do not have the same potential to contribute to the legitimacy of EU governance. The theoretical approach makes it possible to bridge the gap between the EU legitimacy debate and the literature on EU business Interest Representation by establishing a relationship between the new concept of ‘access goods’ and the existing notions of input/output legitimacy. Second, an empirical investigation of business Interest participation is undertaken in order to systematically assess the empirical relevance of the normative propositions and consequently to make inferences about the democratic legitimacy of business Interest participation in the EU policy-making process.

Ans Kolk - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • global rule setting for business a critical analysis of multi stakeholder standards
    Social Science Research Network, 2007
    Co-Authors: Luc Fransen, Ans Kolk
    Abstract:

    In the field of global rule-setting for responsible business behaviour, multi-stakeholder standards have emerged in recent years because of their potential for effective consensus-building, knowledge-sharing and Interest Representation. Proponents also hold that multi-stakeholder standards could address problems related to other forms of global rule-setting for business. Despite alleged advantages, however, analyses of multi-stakeholder initiatives, considering benefits and drawbacks, have been lacking. This article examines multi-stakeholder standards compared to other collaborative standards adopted in the past decade, and focuses subsequently on the peculiarities of multi-stakeholder standards regarding participation, governance and implementation. Multi-stakeholder standards, which involve business and NGOs, and sometimes also governments, are more specific and well-elaborated than other types of standards. But monitoring and implementation are rarely used as means for increasing participation from multiple stakeholders, including most notably those from developing countries. The paper also discusses the implications of the current lack of specificity of the (multi-)stakeholder concept and suggests refinement of multi-stakeholder standards in terms of narrow versus broad inclusiveness.

  • global rule setting for business a critical analysis of multi stakeholder standards
    Organization, 2007
    Co-Authors: Luc Fransen, Ans Kolk
    Abstract:

    In the field of global rule-setting for responsible business behaviour, multi-stakeholder standards have emerged in recent years because of their potential for effective consensus-building, knowledgesharing and Interest Representation. Proponents also hold that multistakeholder standards could address problems related to other forms of global rule-setting for business. Despite alleged advantages, however, analyses of multi-stakeholder initiatives, considering benefits and drawbacks, have been lacking. This article examines multi-stakeholder standards compared to other collaborative standards adopted in the past decade, and focuses subsequently on the peculiarities of multi-stakeholder standards regarding participation, governance and implementation. Multistakeholder standards, which involve business and NGOs, and sometimes also governments, are more specifi c and well-elaborated than other types of standards. But monitoring and implementation are rarely used as means for increasing participation from multiple stakeholders, including most notably those from developing countries. The article also discusses the implications of the current lack of specifi city of the (multi-)stakeholder concept and suggests refi nement of multi-stakeholder standards in terms of narrow versus broad inclusiveness. Key words. business; codes of conduct; corporate responsibility standards; corporate social responsibility; global governance; international organizations; NGOs; stakeholders

Thomas Paster - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • why did austrian business oppose welfare cuts how the organization of Interests shapes business attitudes toward social partnership
    Comparative Political Studies, 2014
    Co-Authors: Thomas Paster
    Abstract:

    In recent decades, business Interests became protagonists of welfare retrenchment in many countries. In contrast, Austria’s national business organization, the WKO (Wirtschaftskammer Osterreich), defended welfare programs and social partnership against government initiatives to dismantle them. Drawing on interviews and media reports, this article analyzes the reasons for this deviation, focusing on reforms in two fields: (a) public pensions and (b) social insurance administration. The article suggests that the institutional setup of Interest Representation in Austria explains this stance better than alternative explanations that focus on competitive advantages. The article identifies compulsory membership, equal voting rights, and encompassing organization as the relevant features of the institutional setup. These features shaped the WKO’s social policy attitudes in two ways: first, by ensuring a strong role for small firms, and second, by reducing the vulnerability of the organization to discontented min...

  • why did austrian business oppose welfare cuts how the organization of Interests shapes business attitudes toward social partnership
    Comparative Political Studies, 2014
    Co-Authors: Thomas Paster
    Abstract:

    In recent decades, business Interests became protagonists of welfare retrenchment in many countries. In contrast, Austria’s national business organization, the WKO (Wirtschaftskammer Osterreich), defended welfare programs and social partnership against government initiatives to dismantle them. Drawing on interviews and media reports, this article analyzes the reasons for this deviation, focusing on reforms in two fields: (a) public pensions and (b) social insurance administration. The article suggests that the institutional setup of Interest Representation in Austria explains this stance better than alternative explanations that focus on competitive advantages. The article identifies compulsory membership, equal voting rights, and encompassing organization as the relevant features of the institutional setup. These features shaped the WKO’s social policy attitudes in two ways: first, by ensuring a strong role for small firms, and second, by reducing the vulnerability of the organization to discontented minorities. The findings point to the importance of organizational structures in shaping associational policy preferences.

Alfio Cerami - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • welfare state developments in the russian federation oil led social policy and the russian miracle
    Social Policy & Administration, 2009
    Co-Authors: Alfio Cerami
    Abstract:

    This article investigates the main welfare state developments of the Russian Federation that have occurred since the fall of communism. It argues that the contemporary welfare expansion strictly depends on high oil and gas prices, and that this oil-led social policy makes the future of the ‘Russian miracle’ highly volatile. The main conclusion is that the Russian welfare state will be able to function properly and to ensure social integration and solidarity only under conditions of sustained oil-led growth. The article also identifies a variety of different, but equally important, endogenous, as well as exogenous, factors that have influenced the social policy developments in the Russian Federation since 1989. These correspond to the existence of few veto points present in the political arena, the lack of a well-structured system of Interest Representation, the presence of informality in the welfare state organization, but also to the presence of national economic vulnerabilities and/or strengths in the now open global economy, as well as to non-contingent decisions taken in strategic sectors of the state, such as those related to the energy or defence sectors.

  • welfare state developments in the russian federation oil led social policy and the russian miracle
    2008
    Co-Authors: Alfio Cerami
    Abstract:

    This article investigates the main welfare state developments of the Russian Federation that have occurred since the fall of communism. It argues that the contemporary welfare expansion strictly depends on high oil and gas prices, and that this oil-led social policy makes the future of the 'Russian Miracle' highly volatile. The main conclusion is that the Russian welfare state will be able to function properly and to ensure social integration and solidarity only under conditions of sustained oil-led growth. This article also identifies a variety of different, but equally important, endogenous, as well as an exogenous, factors that have influenced the social policy developments in the Russian Federation since 1989. These correspond to the existence of few veto points present in the political arena, the lack of a well structured system of Interest Representation, the presence of informality in the welfare state organization, but also to the presence of national economic vulnerabilities and/or strengths in the now open global economy, as well as to non contingent decisions taken in strategic sectors of the state, such as those related to the energy or defense sector.

Luc Fransen - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • global rule setting for business a critical analysis of multi stakeholder standards
    Social Science Research Network, 2007
    Co-Authors: Luc Fransen, Ans Kolk
    Abstract:

    In the field of global rule-setting for responsible business behaviour, multi-stakeholder standards have emerged in recent years because of their potential for effective consensus-building, knowledge-sharing and Interest Representation. Proponents also hold that multi-stakeholder standards could address problems related to other forms of global rule-setting for business. Despite alleged advantages, however, analyses of multi-stakeholder initiatives, considering benefits and drawbacks, have been lacking. This article examines multi-stakeholder standards compared to other collaborative standards adopted in the past decade, and focuses subsequently on the peculiarities of multi-stakeholder standards regarding participation, governance and implementation. Multi-stakeholder standards, which involve business and NGOs, and sometimes also governments, are more specific and well-elaborated than other types of standards. But monitoring and implementation are rarely used as means for increasing participation from multiple stakeholders, including most notably those from developing countries. The paper also discusses the implications of the current lack of specificity of the (multi-)stakeholder concept and suggests refinement of multi-stakeholder standards in terms of narrow versus broad inclusiveness.

  • global rule setting for business a critical analysis of multi stakeholder standards
    Organization, 2007
    Co-Authors: Luc Fransen, Ans Kolk
    Abstract:

    In the field of global rule-setting for responsible business behaviour, multi-stakeholder standards have emerged in recent years because of their potential for effective consensus-building, knowledgesharing and Interest Representation. Proponents also hold that multistakeholder standards could address problems related to other forms of global rule-setting for business. Despite alleged advantages, however, analyses of multi-stakeholder initiatives, considering benefits and drawbacks, have been lacking. This article examines multi-stakeholder standards compared to other collaborative standards adopted in the past decade, and focuses subsequently on the peculiarities of multi-stakeholder standards regarding participation, governance and implementation. Multistakeholder standards, which involve business and NGOs, and sometimes also governments, are more specifi c and well-elaborated than other types of standards. But monitoring and implementation are rarely used as means for increasing participation from multiple stakeholders, including most notably those from developing countries. The article also discusses the implications of the current lack of specifi city of the (multi-)stakeholder concept and suggests refi nement of multi-stakeholder standards in terms of narrow versus broad inclusiveness. Key words. business; codes of conduct; corporate responsibility standards; corporate social responsibility; global governance; international organizations; NGOs; stakeholders