French and British corporate political strategies in the case of the European Merger Control Regime: national or European?

Aubry, Nathalie O.

Abstract

Has the construction of a European level playing field in terms of policy solutions in the merger control field led to a de facto standardisation of European corporate modes of representation? This study challenges scholars who have predicted the development of a European mode of representation that would accompany the shift of competences from the national to the European level of governance. Following the establishment of a generic framework of design of corporate political strategies “ based on the management literature “ and adapted to the European merger control regime context, French and British firms corporate political strategies are thoroughly analysed. The comparison refines the original analytical framework. Moreover the conclusions of the comparative study show differences in corporate political strategies along national lines, although a certain degree of convergence can be identified. There are traditional tendencies in choosing strategies “ although the efficiency of strategies can be assessed case-by-case. These conclusions are, in turn, analysed in terms of Europeanization. The latter concept is defined as a horizontal and vertical process related to the existence of the European level of governance. Unlike current conclusions of the Europeanization literature this research project highlights five main themes of differences between French and British corporate political strategies. In light of these themes the extent to which the Europeanization process affects interest intermediation needs to be qualified. Both the horizontal and vertical flows have an impact on corporate political activity. However, this impact should not be over stated. National constructs and traditions still matter in the design of corporate political strategies.

Citation

AUBRY, N.O. 2009. French and British corporate political strategies in the case of the European Merger Control Regime: national or European? Robert Gordon University, PhD thesis.

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Jul 28, 2009
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 28, 2009
• Public URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10059/383
• Contract Date: Jul 28, 2009
• Award Date: Feb 28, 2009