Institutional Primacy vs. Transnational Segmentation: Transnational Networks of Regulatory Agencies and the Administrative Identifications of National Officials

Abstract

This article investigates the effects of embedding into transnational networks of regulatory agencies (TRNs) on the administrative identifications held by national agency officials. Drawing on an organisational-institutional approach, the article discusses two contending empirical expectations linked to the notion of institutional primacy and transnational segmentation respectively. Whereas the first suggests that agency officials’ administrative identifications are primarily and predominantly oriented toward their domestic institutional surroundings, and that this feature is robust in the face of increased transnational collaboration, by contrast, the notion of transnational segmentation assumes that transnational identifications are likely to be present among national agency officials and particularly among those who maintain contacts and participate vis-à-vis TRNs. Employing survey data gathered among Norwegian agency officials, the article assesses the relative strength of different identifications and provides insights into the effects of transnational embedding vis-à-vis this behavioural property.