Peter Kotzian

Lobbying via consultation ¿ Territorial and functional interests in the Commission's consultation regime

Abstract Starting off with a short introduction to the current Commission’s consultation regime the paper analyses participation of various actors in different consultation instruments of Directorate General Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities and Directorate General Health and Consumers based on quantitative data. Analyzing participation patterns of different groups of actors, we explain differences in participation patterns recurring to actor’s resources and the properties of the instrument as a means to effectively advocate positions. In particular, we test whether the new consultation instruments, designed to counter-balance the dominance of specific groups and professional lobbyists, meet their intended purpose in that they effectively reach out and include new, additional sets of actors. Our results indicate a spill-over between consultation and lobbying and underline the different roles attributed to different actors such as functional and territorial interest representatives in the Commission’s consultation regime.

Tackling Complexity in Business and Society Research: The Methodological and Thematic Potential of Factorial Surveys:

Factorial surveys (FSs) integrate elements of survey research and classical experiments. Using a large number of respondents in a controlled setting, FSs approximate complex and realistic judgment situations through so-called vignettes—that is, carefully designed descriptions of hypothetical people, social situations, or scenarios. Despite being rooted, and predominantly applied, in sociology, FSs are particularly promising for business and society (B&S) scholars. Given the multiplicity, inherent complexity, and sometimes fuzziness of B&S research objects, conventional research methods inevitably reach their limits. This article, therefore, systematically presents methodological and thematic opportunities for FS studies in B&S research. It is argued that FSs are well suited to dealing with the complex interplay of societal-, organizational-, and individual-level factors in B&S research and to studying the principles underlying human perceptions, attitudes, values, social norms, and (anticipated) behavior. The application of the FS method is illustrated based on a showcase example in the realm of socially responsible investments (SRIs). As the literature on the conceptualization of FSs is limited, methodological challenges are addressed to guide B&S researchers past the common methodological pitfalls.

The multilevel interest representation of national business associations

Abstract The role of interest groups in EU policy-making has been widely researched, but findings are still inconclusive. With regard to national business interest associations (BIAs), it is generally acknowledged that they have adopted a multilevel strategy in the course of EU integration. Yet there is little empirical knowledge as to how much attention they devote to national compared to EU institutions, how this varies between different levels of responsibility and which features of BIAs allow for access. Based on a large new dataset of BIAs from France, Germany, Poland and the United Kingdom, this article tests hypotheses derived from an exchange model of interest intermediation. The analysis shows that BIAs with high financial resources, BIAs with a high level of representativeness and multisectoral BIAs have the highest probability of access, whereas the economic importance of the represented sector has no relevance, not even for access to elected political actors, be they national or European.

Reducing Antitrust Violations: Do Codes of Conduct and Compliance Training Make a Difference?

In the light of an increasing severity of antitrust enforcement it is of paramount importance to ensure employees’ adherence to competition laws. In many firms, codes of conduct and compliance training are part of intense and widespread efforts to address this issue. Still, violations of antitrust laws occur, making headlines, and causing substantial financial and reputational damages. This raises the questions how effective codes of conduct and compliance training are, and how they must be designed to prevent antitrust incidents best. This chapter answers these questions based on new data obtained from a factorial survey in a European multinational firm. Our results indicate that managers are sometimes unaware that some business situations may constitute a violation of antitrust laws. Codes of conduct along with supplementary compliance training improve this awareness. However, they should be complemented by further compliance measures.

Konsultationsprozess der Kommission: Steuerung von EU-Lobbying?

Der Beitrag von Kotzian und Quittkat legt empirisch offen, wie die Kommission den Einsatz von Konsultationsinstrumenten an ihrem Bedurfnis nach Information und Legitimation ausgerichtet und dabei Lobbyingaktivitaten von Interessengruppen zu steuern vermag. Die starke Praferenz fur offentliche Akteure lasst erkennen, dass die Konsultationen primar der reibungslosen Implementation europaischer Politik durch die Mitgliedstaaten dienen. Zugleich gelingt es der Kommission mit den meisten Konsultationsinstrumenten die zur Legitimitatssteigerung geforderte Vielfalt an Interessen zu erreichen. Wie die Studie verdeutlicht, nutzen dabei eine Reihe von Interessengruppen die Konsultationsinstrumente der Kommission systematisch als Lobbyinginstrument. Diese Form der Professionalisierung der Interessenvermittlung steht, auch dies ist erkennbar, weniger mit der Ressourcenausstattung der Interessenvertreter im Zusammenhang als vielmehr mit deren strategischen Entscheidung, bestandig uber den gesamten Politikzyklus hinweg und in allen Konsultationen, unabhangig von deren direkten Nutzlichkeit als Lobbyinginstrument, Prasenz zu zeigen.

Gender, Age and Specialization: Factors in Academic Careers of Political Scientists in Germany 1953 - 2003

Using academic careers, this paper will contribute to the empirical sociology of professions. Until recently, academic careers in Germany were highly regulated, following a predefined pattern of three steps. Contrasting with these regulations, there are numerous informal hypotheses and beliefs in the academic community about factors for success. This paper analyzes their actual impact. We find both a substantial variation and a substantial role for chance. Variation in the duration of a step is highest in the habilitation step. While there is much unexplained variation in how the Ph.D. step is executed, the two steps following are more influenced by few factors. In particular, the length of the final step - the waiting period for a professorship - is beyond the control of the individual and highly determined by the cyclical supply of vacant professorships with a fitting profile. While we cannot comment on the decision of women to leave academia, an effect of gender occurs only in the first of the three steps of a typical career, presumably due to the decision to have a child.

For Better, for Worse? Public Support for the Capitalist Model of the Economy

A capitalist market economy is based on several institutional elements, such as private ownership and competition. Does public support for this economic model rise if the economy prospers, and fall during a downturn? Or is public support largely independent of the ups and downs of economic cycles? We hypothesize that positive economic performance increases support and that persons profiting personally are more supportive of the economic systems constitutive institutional elements. Using multilevel regression we study the determinants of individual-level support for the economic system. We also test for differences in the perception of economic performance due to political attitudes and personal properties. The findings partly support the hypotheses, indicating that macro-economic factors matter for individual-level attitudes towards the economy. Attitudes towards different institutional elements of the economic system also differ in the degree to which they are political or economic, and influenced by economic performance. Individual features – education and personal economic stakes – affect attitudes towards the economy, but a substantial share of the individual-level variation in economic attitudes remains unexplained.

Book Review: Hospitals in a Changing Europe

unemployment rate dropped. However, once in place, all these policies were changed into a medium and long-term social policy. The author considers the state and its endeavour to achieve a societal consensus to overcome the crisis as the crucial condition that in the end helped South Korea to be successful. Thus, the remainder of the book illuminates the tripartite arrangement between state, capital and labour. The South Korean government decided to take the consensual path and initiated the so-called Tripartite Commission (TC) during the financial crisis and at the peak of the industrial conflict on labour legislation. In 1999, this neocorporatist arrangement was given a legal foundation and despite some problems it is now seen as the location for negotiations on industrial relations and social pacts. Sung-Ho Choi presents a rich single casestudy. However, as the author points out, the development of social policy depends on national conditions and constellations of political interests as well as the historical context of the country. Thus his conclusion might be rather optimistic and South Korea might just be a positive example where the structural context was conducive to the emerging or extension of a social-security system. It might be the case that not every developing country has such strong trade unions as those which seem to be one major driving force behind the developments in the specific case of South Korea. Even though the book is a very comprehensive description of the development of social policy in South Korea, there is a lack of interview and policy document data that would have been especially helpful in illuminating the politics of the tripartite arrangements. Such data would have added the perspective of the participating political actors rather than having only the interpretation of facts by the author himself.