Governance Mechanisms Research Articles

Risk evaluation, spatiotemporal evolution, and driving factors of provincial food safety in China

The cross-regional transfer of food safety risks has become more prominent, bringing new challenges to the food ecosystem and food safety regulation. This study develops an evaluation index system of food safety risks based on the pressure-state-response (PSR) framework. The food safety risk indices of 30 provinces in China from 2011 to 2020 are calculated by determining the index weights using the real-coded accelerated genetic algorithm–projection pursuit model (RAGA-PP). Furthermore, this study elaborates the spatiotemporal differences and correlations of provincial food safety risks, characterizes the spatial aggregation and spatiotemporal changes of risks, and investigates driving factors affecting the spatiotemporal evolution of risks. The following findings are established. First, the overall risk value of food safety in China in 2020 decreased by approximately 5% compared with year 2010. In 2020, the national food safety environment was relatively favorable and tended toward stability. The overall trend of food safety risks in China is decreasing, although socioeconomic development has increased the risks, and the corresponding social management measures have also reduced the risks. Second, food safety risks were unevenly distributed among provinces, showing significant regional differences. Specifically, generally higher risks were observed in eastern provinces versus other regions and in coastal provinces versus inland provinces. Concentrated and superimposed risks were observed in the Yangtze River Delta, a large urban agglomeration centered on Shanghai. Lastly, population density and urbanization level were the main drivers of the evolution of regional food safety risks; whereas policy instruments used by the government to manage risks played a limited role. The results show that establishing a cross-regional collaborative governance mechanism to manage food safety risks should constitute an important component of the regional integration strategy of China.

Environmental Social And Governance (ESG) And Corporate Governance in ASEAN A Threshold Effects of Corporate Strategy 1

Sustainable development goals (SDGs) constitute 17 sets of goals to be achieved by the end of the said year. The SDGs prioritize problems associated with hunger, inequality, climate change, environmental destruction, peace, and justice for a better global future (United Nations, 2018). This study has two objectives, first, to examine the relationship between corporate governance mechanisms and corporate sustainability performance across ASEAN-listed companies. Second, to explore the threshold effect of corporate strategy in a nexus relationship between corporate governance mechanisms and corporate sustainability performance. This study uses 118 companies in ASEAN-5 countries as study’s sample. The period covers from 2011-2020. Both fixed effect model and fixed effect threshold regression are employed to capture linear and nonlinear estimation, respectively. The study validates the female directors and the independent directors on ASEAN boards positively impacts corporate sustainability. Intriguingly, the intervention of corporate strategy will mitigate the low company’s ESG score while strengthening the link between corporate governance and ESG score. This study has practical implications for companies, investors, and regulators looking to in incorporate ESG factors into capital expenditure decisions and reporting.

State aid for broadband network deployment: National and subnational governance mechanisms, 2003–2023

This paper examines the governance models of State aid measures for broadband network deployment in European Union Member States. The research is based on 199 decision letters collected from the European Commission's competition cases database, published between 2003 and 2023. Deploying a theory-driven content analysis approach, the analysis reveals and categorises a variety of governance models. These models vary regarding the authority responsible for the decision-making and, in the case of national schemes, the authority responsible for the implementation, including centralised and decentralised arrangements. Different legacies and institutional set-ups explain the governance models, including the typology of state structures, the constitutional powers, the traditions of participation in the telecommunication sector, policy diffusion and regional development. There are several possible pathways to a gradual transition from one model to another. The design of flexible national schemes, which offer subnational authorities the option to implement them in their regions or to rely on central management agencies for specific tasks adapted to their interests, resources and capacities, could be the optimal solution to prevent the launch of ad hoc measures by subnational authorities and to adapt to different institutional arrangements.

How Does Fintech Development Affect Financing Constraints of Smes? Evidence From China

Abstract Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play an indispensable role in China’s economy through making huge contributions to GDP, national employment, financial innovation and government taxation. However, SMEs in China have long faced financing constraints due to their inherent problems, such as financial information asymmetry, immature governance mechanisms, and lack of collateral under the traditional financial system, which have hindered their long-term development. In recent years, financial technology (Fintech) has entered a rapid development track, especially in China, providing new ideas and methods for solving the financing difficulties of SMEs from a technical perspective. In order to examine this, this paper measures the degree of financing constraints through the cash flow sensitivity of cash model and explores how the Fintech development affects financing constraints of SMEs in China and how this impact further communicated to the performance and the risks of SMEs by adopting two-way fixed effects models. The results show that Fintech could alleviate the financing constraints of SMEs. Furthermore, the mediating role of ownership is identified, presenting a better mitigating effect of Fintech on the financing constraints for private SMEs. In addition, both the performance and the risks of SMEs showed the upward single-sided U-shaped relationship with the increase of the Fintech development index, which indicates that Fintech could amplify performance while magnifying the risks of SMEs. The findings of this paper offer an important implication for China that regulatory authorities should consider and balance the financing constraint mitigation effect and risk amplification effect of Fintech.

Study on the motivation of enterprise greenwashing behavior based on the perspective of environmental commitment implementation

With the rapid economic growth, the issue of ecological environmental protection has been widely concerned by the public, and has triggered diversified discussions. As the main participants in social and economic activities, enterprises play a pivotal role in this issue, not only bearing social responsibility, but also playing a decisive role in environmental protection practices. In the context of consciously undertaking social responsibilities and responding to institutional requirements, enterprises often express their firm position and commitment to environmental protection and compliance with laws and regulations through information disclosure. In practice, some enterprises run counter to their environmental protection commitments, choosing to "low investment, high return" as the goal of greenwashing behavior. Taking Hegang as the research object, this paper summarizes the process of implementing environmental commitment as the result of the joint action of two factors: implementation ability and implementation motivation. Then, the paper analyzes the major environmental pollution cases of Hesteel, analyzes the motivation of Hesteel's greenwashing behavior from the perspective of the implementation ability and implementation motivation of environmental commitment, and finally puts forward corresponding suggestions for the shortcomings of the enterprise itself and external regulatory departments in preventing greenwashing behavior, in order to optimize the governance mechanism and improve regulatory efficiency.

A Study on the Causes of Abnormal Sports Fan Culture and Practical Governance Paths

In recent years, abnormal fan culture has gradually infiltrated the sports industry, severely affecting its development. The deviance of sports fan culture not only undermines the dissemination of sportsmanship but also threatens the sustainable development of sports. This paper analyzes the characteristics and connotations of sports fan culture in terms of groups, organizations, and behaviors, exploring the reasons for its deviance. Finally, targeted governance measures are proposed, utilizing a mechanism of multi-agent collaborative governance involving government, online media, society, schools, and families. Through coordinated efforts such as the formulation of corresponding laws and regulations, online regulation, legal education, and positive publicity, it aims to regulate sports fan culture, protect the physical and mental health of athletes, help young people establish correct idol views, and promote the positive development of social sports culture, thus maintaining a healthy sports fan ecology.

Developing a roadmap to reach and sustain 90% full immunization coverage through a cross-sectoral system strengthening strategy in Bihar, India

IntroductionReducing childhood mortality by curtailing the incidence of vaccine preventable diseases is contingent upon a robust and high-performing routine immunization system. According to the available data, the full immunization coverage (FIC) in the state of Bihar (India) has reached ~ 71%. While the government aspires to reach 90% FIC, a systematic evidence-based investigation of the reasons behind underimmunization as well as the identification of drivers and enablers to reach and sustain 90% FIC is critical. This study aimed to review the factors leading to underimmunized children in the state of Bihar and develop a forward-looking roadmap to reach and sustain 90% FIC by adopting a system strengthening approach.MethodWe conducted a desk review, followed by extensive stakeholder interviews and field visits to document and analyze the data and evidence relevant to routine immunization system performance in the state of Bihar. The stakeholders included the State Immunization Officer, District Immunization Officers, Block-level health officials, representatives from development agencies, healthcare workers, and caregivers. A total of eighty-six structured interviews were conducted, which included qualitative and quantitative parameters.ResultWhile positive results were observed from the assessment of Bihar’s immunization system, the implementation of targeted strategies for supply, service delivery and demand can provide a means to achieve FIC of 90%. The roadmap developed by the Government of Bihar enlists 40 + interventions across key thematic areas and has been prioritized over a 5-year time horizon as short, medium, and long-term milestones to achieve 90% FIC. These interventions include strengthening the data availability and quality, improving the governance and review mechanism, augmenting the capacity of health workers involve with immunization programme, and initiatives to increase demand for immunization services.ConclusionThe Bihar’s Immunization Roadmap development project work follows a methodical approach to assess and identify intervention to improve immunization coverage and can provide information and reference to other states and countries that are aiming to formulate similar action plans.

Governing the Responsible Investment of Slack Resources in Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Performance: How Beneficial are CSR Committees?

AbstractPossessing slack resources enables businesses to invest in innovative and stakeholder-focused initiatives. Therefore, we posit that higher slack resources encourage businesses to allocate these resources to improve their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance. Moreover, as a central sustainability governance mechanism, we hypothesize that the corporate social responsibility (CSR) committee supports investing slack resources in ESG initiatives. Using data from Nasdaq-100 firms, we find initial support for a positive effect of slack resources for ESG. However, further analyses reveal that slack resources become detrimental to ESG after an economically relevant threshold, indicating an inverted U-shaped effect of slack resources. Additionally, despite their generally positive effect, we uncover that CSR committees cannot effectively enhance the benefits of low or moderate slack levels for ESG nor prevent the detriments of elevated slack levels for ESG. Therefore, our study significantly contributes to the ongoing discourse surrounding slack resources, ESG, and the usefulness of CSR committees. These findings hold significant implications for ethical resource allocation, urging firms and their decision-makers to reconsider the dual-edged role of slack resources in the unique ESG context and support the CSR committee in realizing its potential for promoting sustainability and ethical practices within the organization.

The occurrence mechanism for local governments’ overregulation: evidence from central environmental protection inspection

Excessive environmental regulation can achieve environmental improvement, but it is not conducive to sustainable environmental improvement. This paper takes the “one-size-fits-all” (OFA) in the process of China’s central environmental protection inspection (CEPI) as an example to explore the occurrence mechanism from the perspective of multiple co-governance. Using the fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA), we find that four distinct mechanisms can result in OFA. Based on the four distinct mechanisms, we find that even if the pollution behavior of enterprises is not serious, local governments may still adopt OFA under a combination of other conditions; non-key cities of environmental protection are more prone to OFA; giving full play to the role of public inspection is a key step to avoiding local government violations. However, the effectiveness of public environmental attention is insufficient under the dual driving force of pollution and the economy under the lack of vertical environmental regulatory pressure.

Blockchain, tokens, smart contracts, and “decentralized autonomous organization”: Expanding and renewing the mechanisms of governance?

AbstractBlockchain, tokens, smart contracts, and decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) are increasingly shaping discussions in media and research. The aim of this contribution is to explore how governance theory can clarify these concepts and how the application of theory to this new problem can also enrich governance theory itself.We focus on the technical environment (blockchain and tokens) that is at the heart of this new form of organization. By exploiting the intrinsic attributes of blockchain (decentralization, immutability, and transparency), smart contracts and DAOs are coordination mechanisms that expand the possibilities of interagent interactions and horizontal coordination, eliminating information asymmetries and the need for trusted third parties. In addition, by taking advantage of the transparency and immutability inherent in blockchain, smart contracts and DAOs make it possible to find and record agreements securely, automating contractual clauses.We argue that these technologies have a significant potential to renew the contractual approach to governance and to overcome some of the limitations of traditional theory.

The Moderation Effect of Islamic Corporate Governance on Fraud Financial Statement Detection Using Fraud Hexagon

Purpose: Given that Islamic corporate governance serves as a moderating variable, this study aims to examine the impact of the hexagon theory on fraudulent financial statements.Method: This study employed a quantitative methodology and garnered secondary data on Islamic commercial banks in Southeast Asia. Purposive sampling was carried out to collect data from 18 companies during five years (2017–2022), yielding 90 observations. The data analysis method employed Warp-PLS software version 8.0 and partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).Findings: Study results demonstrate that financial stability significantly worsens the performance of fraudulent financial statements. Related party transactions, external auditors, director changes, C.E.O. education, company existence, and political connections did not affect governance, moderate the significant positive influence of financial stability, related party transactions, company existence, and political connections on fraudulent financial statements. Meanwhile, good oversight, external auditors, director changes, and C.E.O. education did not moderate the impact of misleading financial statements.Originality/Value: This research contributites significantly to the Islamic banking management. The Islamic corporate governance mechanism forms the process and structure of the entity’s supervisory, monitoring and advisory functions. The presentation of financial statements is carried out in an accountable and transparent manner based on Sharia principles, which can reduce the practice of financial statement fraud, so stakeholders will be more confident in investing.

Examining the environmental consequences of China's mineral wealth and governance in the context of the natural resource curse

This study investigates the environmental consequences of China's mineral wealth and governance within the framework of the natural resource curse. The natural resource curse posits that countries rich in natural resources often experience less economic growth and worse development outcomes than countries with fewer natural resources. This phenomenon is particularly relevant for China, which has experienced significant mineral wealth since the 1990s. The primary aim of this research is to assess how China's mineral wealth and governance structures have influenced environmental outcomes from 1990 to 2022, using an econometric model. The results reveal three key findings: First, regions with higher mineral wealth have experienced more severe environmental degradation, particularly in terms of air and water pollution. Second, governance quality plays a critical role in moderating these effects, with better governance associated with less environmental harm. Third, economic growth driven by mineral wealth does not necessarily translate into improved environmental conditions, highlighting a disconnect between economic and environmental objectives. The policy implication is clear: to mitigate the environmental consequences of mineral wealth, China must strengthen its governance mechanisms and integrate environmental considerations into its resource management strategies.

Exploring Financial Risk Management: A Qualitative Study on Risk Identification, Evaluation, and Mitigation in Banking, Insurance, and Corporate Finance

The research aims to analyze existing scholarly works to gain insights into risk identification, evaluation, and mitigation strategies. The methodology involves a comprehensive literature search using academic databases such as PubMed, JSTOR, Scopus, and Google Scholar. Inclusion and exclusion criteria are applied to filter relevant sources, and data collection involves reading and critically appraising each selected source. Thematic analysis is employed to identify key findings, themes, and theoretical frameworks. The synthesized findings reveal the importance of risk identification as a fundamental step in effective risk management, encompassing various risks such as credit, market, liquidity, operational, and systemic risks across different sectors. Risk evaluation techniques, including quantitative methods such as value-at-risk modeling and scenario analysis, are crucial for assessing risk impact and likelihood. Risk mitigation strategies, such as financial derivatives, reinsurance, and corporate governance mechanisms, are essential for minimizing risk exposure and enhancing organizational resilience. Challenges such as cybersecurity threats, regulatory complexities, and climate change risks present significant obstacles to risk management. The study highlights the need for integrated risk management approaches that consider emerging threats and uncertainties, promote regulatory cooperation, and leverage technological innovations.

Does Sustainability Assurance enhance the connection between Corporate Governance and Firm Performance in India?

Scholarly attention to the association between corporate governance and firm performance, considering sustainability assurance as a moderator is scarce. This study aims to examine the moderating role of sustainability assurance in the nexus between corporate governance and firm performance in India. The data relating to 35 environmentally sensitive companies among the top 100 National Stock Exchange (NSE) listed entities were gathered from the ProwessIQ Database and annual reports of companies during 2016–2022. The fixed effect regression model was employed. The results show an insignificant effect of board effectiveness on firm performance as measured by return on assets (ROA), return on equity (ROE), and Tobin’s Q. Similar findings were documented on the audit committee effectiveness and firm performance nexus, except for Tobin’s Q (β = 0.316). In addition, the study did not support the moderating role of sustainability assurance on the board effectiveness and firm performance nexus, indicating the presence of ineffective corporate governance mechanisms. However, the results show that sustainability assurance significantly and negatively moderates the relationship between audit committee effectiveness and ROA (β = –0.021), ROE (β = –0.074), and Tobin’s Q (β = –0.996). This implies that the practice of external assurance of sustainability reports by firms with audit committee effectiveness is an additional burden due to the extra cost involved. Further, the result indicates the learning curve effect among Indian companies. Thus, the findings suggest the need for regulatory focus on encouraging sustainable business practices in terms of effective corporate governance and sustainability assurance. AcknowledgmentThe authors are grateful to Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Manipal, for providing financial assistance in the form of a “JRF Contingency Grant” for this research article.

Assessing the Relationship between Political Financing and Policy Bias in B40 Welfare Policies during COVID-19

This conceptual paper delves into the intricate relationship between political financing and policy bias in the implementation of welfare policies for the B40 (Below 40 is the 40% of the total population that earns the lowest tier of household income compared to the first group of T20-Top 20% and second category M40-Middle 40%) cluster in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The B40 cluster comprises the most economically vulnerable segment of the population residing in public housing (the heavily subsidized government-owned residential areas for underprivileged citizens with certain household income categories). This study aims to unravel how political financing influences the formulation and execution of welfare policies, potentially leading to bias in resource allocation and support provision. Through an exhaustive review of existing scholarly literature and analysis of pertinent case studies, this paper embarks on examining the degree to which political financing impacts the decision-making process concerning welfare policies. The analysis focuses on identifying potential biases in policy formulation that may favor the interests of political entities providing financial backing to policymakers. Furthermore, the study also explores the implications of such biases on the equitable distribution of resources to the B40 cluster during the global COVID-19 crisis. The conceptual framework employed in this paper draws from theories of political economy, corruption, and public policy. By dissecting the extant body of literature, the paper aims to offer a nuanced comprehension of the dynamics between political financing and policy bias in the realm of welfare policies for the B40 cluster. The eventual findings are poised to enrich the theoretical understanding of the influence exerted by political financing on the formulation and execution of welfare policies, particularly during periods of global crisis. By identifying policy biases stemming from political financing, this study aspires to catalyze critical discussions on the imperative of transparent and accountable decision-making processes. Such deliberations are vital to ensuring the fair and effective implementation of welfare policies for the B40 cluster in Kuala Lumpur amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper thus serves as a clarion call for enhanced governance mechanisms and institutional reforms to uphold the principles of fairness, equity, and social justice in welfare policy formulation and implementation. This study contributes to the existing literature by shedding light on the nexus between political financing and policy bias in the context of welfare policies for vulnerable populations. It underscores the importance of addressing systemic flaws in governance and decision-making processes to mitigate the adverse effects of political influence on welfare policy outcomes. Moreover, the findings of this study have practical implications for policymakers, advocacy groups, civil society organizations and other stakeholders involved in shaping welfare policy agendas and advocating for reform initiatives. In conclusion, this paper calls for a concerted effort to promote transparency, accountability, and integrity in the formulation and implementation of welfare policies. By fostering a culture of ethical governance and democratic participation, policymakers can ensure that welfare programs serve the interests of the most vulnerable members of society and contribute to equitable and sustainable development outcomes.

Rituals as Nature-Based Governance of reciprocity between people and nature.

The conventional approach to environmental governance, based on institutions, regulations, and interventions, has failed to stop the current ecological catastrophe. I suggest a radical alternative: Ritual as the core mode of 'nature-based governance' (NBG) that enacts deep and comprehensive reciprocity between people and nature. NBG grounds governance mechanisms in embodied more-than-human practices with normative force. I build on theories of embodiment to suggest a general concept of ritual that is inspired by but generalizes over Indigenous thought and is informed by East Asian ideas about ritual as the pivot of social order. Further, the embodiment framework recognises ritual as a kind of action humans and non-humans share as living beings. Therefore, rituals can be harnessed in workable governance mechanisms to create and sustain communities of multi-species cohabitation. I distinguish between two basic types of reciprocity corresponding to two types of governance: Disembodied reciprocity enacted by conventional human-only governance schemes and embodied reciprocity enacted by NBG. Embodied reciprocity creates relationality of people and nature. Equipped with these theoretical insights, I suggest practical applications in the context of NBG of Nature-based solutions, discussing three stylized models. These are the formation of urban multi-species communities in urban gardening and urban forests, the commoning of ecosystem services of animal populations in wildfire protection, and reconceptualizing eco-compensation as a reciprocal ritual of gift-giving.

Impacts on Rural Community Development and Governance by Different Land Ownership: A Comparative Study Based on Two Villages in China

AbstractThe capability of rural community governance is significantly impacted by the different types of land ownership when capital investment in rural tourism to achieve rural revitalisation. The outcomes of which profoundly affect sustainable rural development. This study, by utilising a theoretical framework using double movement theory, aims to assess the impacts on rural community governance by two different land ownership models, the Enterprise-based Model (EBM) and the Community-based Model (CBM), in the process of capital flow to the countryside (CFC). Case studies of the two villages were adopted to examine and explore the logic of interaction between stakeholders and reveal the internal mechanism of rural community governance. The results of this research indicate that the CBM has considerable advantages over the EBM. In the CBM, the village collective retains land ownership without fully marketising, which allows villagers to maintain their bargaining power with investors whilst increasing their local awareness. In the EBM, however, the local government promotes the conversion of land ownership. The villagers benefit more from one-time acquisition but lose sustainable benefits created by local development. Stakeholders call for the need to create a development model beyond the market economy by maintaining China's rural land system in the process of CFC. In this regard, this paper provides an original contribution.

Design and management considerations for the Kenya-Tanzania marine transboundary conservation area.

Although transboundary conservation areas (TCAs) are critical tools for protecting ecosystems and ecological processes that transcend national jurisdictions, they are challenging to create due to the differences in governance contexts and capacity and power dynamics among countries. Marine TCAs are also more difficult to enforce relative to terrestrial TCAs because most nations still treat oceans as open access. Current guidelines for TCA development and implementation also focus mostly on terrestrial TCAs, which are not practical for marine TCAs. Hence, we reviewed the challenges associated with the design and management of marine TCAs and devised analytical and practical approaches to support the application of spatial planning frameworks and adaptive governance mechanisms. We used the lessons from the review to examine the decisions made for the proposed marine TCA in the Kenya-Tanzania border region and created options and considerations to promote effective design and management processes. We found the obstacles to marine TCAs in general are related to issues of fit, particularly differences in environmental research capacity, socioeconomic contexts, and internal institutional arrangements. These included differences in knowledge and capacity for marine ecological research and conservation; ability to adjust and update data; differences in values, interests, and resource uses; conservation costs; jurisdictional differences; engagement of multiple levels of organization; and differences in legal bases and policy development processes. Understanding and reconciling these challenges during the TCA development process can help enhance meaningful discussions in the design of the TCA and cultivate the enabling conditions for collaborative governance across countries and within different levels of organization from national to local actors.

Artificial Intelligence and International Law: The Impact of Emerging Technologies on the Global Legal System

With the rapid development of artificial intelligence technology, its impact on international law is becoming increasingly significant. This paper explores the application of AI in international relations and the challenges it poses to existing legal systems, analyzing AI regulation within the current international law framework and the exploration of emerging international legal norms. Through specific cases, the paper elaborates on legal issues in the fields of intelligent weapons, cybersecurity, and data protection, emphasizing the importance of international cooperation and global governance mechanisms in addressing these challenges. Finally, the paper looks forward to future trends in AI technology and international law’s response strategies, proposing the necessity of constructing effective legal frameworks and ethical guidelines to promote the sustainable development of AI technology and the healthy development of the global legal system.

Tobacco Industry Engagement in the House of Commons Science and Technology Select Committee E-cigarettes Inquiry

Background: A now extensive literature has documented political strategies of healthharming industries (HHIs), but little is known about their engagement with Parliamentary select committees. Recent investments by trans-national tobacco corporations (TTCs) in electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) has raised concerns that industry actors may be using these to re-engage policymakers in ways precluded by the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) Article 5.3. Methods: This article examines tobacco industry engagement with the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee (STC) inquiry into electronic cigarettes. It draws on a qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews with committee members and support staff (n=4) triangulated against written and oral evidence submissions. Results: TTCs featured prominently in the STC inquiry via written and oral submissions. Opportunities existed for industry engagement, and potential influence, at each stage of the process. There was an absence of oral testimony from those sceptical about the potential health benefits of ENDS. The governance mechanisms in place for select committees appear inadequate for protecting committee work from industry influence. As it relates to TTCs, this has implications for the UK’s commitments under FCTC Article 5.3, yet understanding of the FCTC and the requirements of Article 5.3 compliance within the committee were limited. Conclusion: The governance of select committees requires urgent reform in order to balance norms of openness and participation with the need to protect their work from power of economic actors with conflicts of interest. This is particularly the case in relation to TTCs and adherence to FCTC Article 5.3. These findings are of relevance to other select committees whose work affects the interests of HHIs. Further research is needed on other committees and sectors.