Fragmented or cohesive transnational private regulation of sustainability standards? A comparative study

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Fransen, Luc; Conzelmann, Thomas
• 署名单位: University of Amsterdam; Maastricht University
• 刊物名称: REGULATION & GOVERNANCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1748-5983
• DOI: 10.1111/rego.12055
• 发表日期: 2015
• 页码: 259-275
• 关键词: voluntary environmental-programs; GLOBAL GOVERNANCE; collective action; LABOR; multiplicity; emergence; MARKET; coffee; era

摘要

Literature on private regulation recognizes the proliferation of competing regulatory organizations and approaches in various industries. Studies analyzing why fragmentation arises so far focus on single-case studies, the exploration of single variables, or variation in types of fragmentation. This article analyzes why in certain industries and for certain issues regulatory organizations proliferate, while in others a single regulatory organization emerges which covers the entire industry. Through a comparative case study of private regulation of sustainability standards in the forestry, clothing, IT-electronics, and chemicals industries, we show how a combination of low industrial concentration, civil society involvement in governance, and stringent standards of a first-moving regulator offer the strongest explanation for a fragmented private regulatory field, while high industrial concentration, business-driven governance, and lenient standards of a first-moving regulator lead to cohesive regulation.