Eli Moen

Reforming higher education in the Netherlands and Norway: the role of the state and national modes of governance

In the literature on system level governance of higher education, deregulation and the stepping back of government are regarded as effective measures for strengthening institutional autonomy. Based on an analysis of reforms in higher education in the Netherlands and Norway from the mid-1980s onwards, this article discusses how institutional autonomy is conditioned by reform implementation and the regulatory frameworks intended to enhance autonomy. It is argued that institutional autonomy is conditioned by the existence of systematic dialogue between the government and higher education institutions combined with regulations restricting the scope of strategic action by the institutions.

Coordinating Transnational Competition: Changing Patterns in the European Pulp and Paper Industry

This volume investigates the relationship between economic globalization and institutions, or global governance, challenging the common assumption that globalization and institutionalization are essentially processes which exclude each other. Instead, the contributors to this book show that globalization is better perceived as a dual process of institutional change at the national level, and institution building at the transnational level. Rich, supporting empirical evidence is provided along with a theoretical conceptualization of the main actors, mechanisms and conditions involved in trickle-up and trickle-down trajectories through which national institutional systems are being transformed and transnational rules emerge.

Orchestrating a new industrial field. The case of the Finnish wood-based bioeconomy

The articles focus is on how companies and institutions interact and cooperate in order to develop the wood-based bioeconomy field. Based on a case study of the Finnish forest sector, the paper shows that shifting to sustainability requires processes of co-creation. As radical innovation requires complementary competences, companies have had to cooperate with a large number of actors. By interacting with multiple actors at multiple levels, both companies and institutions have engaged in new types of activities that have led to a change in their respective roles. By taking on responsibility for developing the new industrial field, both companies and institutions act as orchestrators for mobilising a large number of public and private actors. Subsequently, the paper argues that this interaction has produced a new type of complementarity between companies and institutions facilitating the development of the new industrial field.

Technological change and the decline of the traditional pulp and paper industry in Norway, 1950–1980

Abstract With its breakthrough around 1870, the Norwegian pulp and paper industry came to be a principal driving force in the industrialization of the country, retaining a leading position in the national economy until the mid-1950s. From that time onwards, however, the industry has experienced a relative as well as an absolute decline. Of great importance in this decline has been the fact that new technology made possible the use of all kinds of wood, which, internationally, led to a major relocation and restructuring of the industry. Technological change is, however, not sufficient to explain the decline of the Norwegian industry. National social characteristics as well as certain structural features of the industry also deserve attention.

Weakening trade union power

For the past two decades – and in particular after the 2008 crisis – atypical employment has expanded across Europe. The crisis led to increased demand for more flexible labour markets, and thus atypical employment became an important tool for employment, competitiveness and economic growth. However, recent research reveals that employers are using atypical employment not just to compensate for unstable markets, but also as an opportunity to cut costs by bypassing collective agreements and to discipline workers, works councils and unions. The case study presented in this article corroborates these findings, arguing that employers – in addition to reducing costs – are making use of atypical employment to weaken organised labour as a goal in its own right. Whether such behaviour forms part of a larger drive to resist unions needs to be further researched. In any event, atypical employment represents an increasing challenge to trade unions across Europe.