Industrial Policy Partners: explaining the European level firm-Commission interplay for electronics

Abstract

This paper explores the relationship which exists between the European Commission and electronics transnational corporations (TNCs) in the creation and control of European Community (EC) industrial policy. The objective is to understand and to provide a framework of analysis for the processes of Commission–TNC relations. This necessitates understanding how the various organisations interact and how they influence one another (Wilks and Wright, 1987: 275). This policy-making power interplay is best conceptualised in terms of the Pentagonal Diplomacy model. It is acknowledged that other actors, especially national governments, are important players in EC industrial policy formulation. We argue however, that EC electronics policy is shaped and guided mainly by the Commission and a group of large firms. This process occurs through what Wilks and Wright describe as “informal relationships” (1987: 286), the effects of which are often underestimated in analyses of EC industrial policy.