The Common Evolutionary Logic of the Transformation of Government Functions and the Development of Market Regulatory Governance Systems

Abstract

Regulators have a crucial role to play in the economy and society. This paper presents an approach to taking into account the evolution of transnational private rule-makers. It argues that the governance of business conduct involves important, and often underproblematized, assumptions. The transformation of organizations, procedures and rules is considered as a key strength of various forms of private authority. Space is given to local, national and transnational mechanisms of business governance, aiming to explore the shifting and new roles of government in these mechanisms in novel and theoretically insightful ways. These include tensions between complementary competitive relations between public and private bodies and question the ability of the former to effectively enroll, lead and influence the latter. The article describes how regulator and organizational crises are catalyzing the formation and evolution of transnational private regulators and affect the relationship between public and private regimes. Finally, we consider the potential challenges to competitiveness arising from the use of a dynamic perspective on transnational private regulation. Thus, this piece provides an interpretation of the related historical discourses of the past half century, problematizing key underlying assumptions in the field, and proposes a research agenda for the further exploration of governments in governance, underscoring the implications for management and organizations.