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PurposeThis paper sets out to argue for rethinking governance through the prism of Montesquieu's model of checks and balances within state powers. It aims to explore the parallel between the eighteenth century concept of division of power and the current need to engage and balance the powers of the state, industry/markets and civil society in governance for global sustainability. It also takes Montesquieu's doctrine of balance of powers beyond static checks and balances into more dynamic innovation.Design/methodology/approachThis is a conceptual paper that translates seventeenth and eighteenth century state theory into twenty‐first century governance. It also explores how models from innovation may be applied to discuss dynamic aspects of governance.FindingsDrawing on the product‐cycle model, the paper shows how governance entrepreneurship may be explored and understood in innovation terms. The paper explores extractive industries' transparency initiative (EITI) as an illustration of governance innovation to address a gross governance and market failure in the extractive industries – the "resource curse", particularly in developing countries. It shows how much of EITI's remarkable success in building institutional support is due to actors expanding from their traditional domains into new complementary roles. Each of the three powers – civil society, business, and politics – has exploited their comparative advantages in bringing the governance project forward.Originality/valueGiven the limitation of conventional governance models, the originality/value of the paper lie in its launch of new supplementary governance approaches and their application to the EITI case.

"Governance and Business Models for Sustainable Capitalism touches upon many of the central themes of today's debate on business and society. In particular, it brings attention to a recurrent tension between efficiency, innovation and productivity on the one hand, and fairness, equity and sustainability on the other. The book argues that we need radical rethinking of business models and economic governance, beyond the classical doctrine which sees social and ecological responsibility as lying with public policy regulation of purely profit-seeking firms. In spite of the popular CSR agenda, business - as we know it today - is both too transient and too limited in its motivation to carry the regulatory burden. We need to adopt a much wider concept of "partnered governance", where advanced states and pioneering companies work together to raise the social and environmental bar. The book suggests that civil engagements based on moral rather than formal rights, and amplified through the media, may provide a healthy challenge both to autocratic planning and to solely profit-centered commercialization. The book also proposes a triple cycle theory of innovation for sustainability: a novel framing of the efficacy of green and prosocial entrepreneurship as intertwined with political visions and supportive institutions. In addition, the book offers reflections on the ways in which further digital robotizaton may enable transition to an 'Agora Economy' where productive efficiency is combined with expanded civic freedoms. Aimed primarily at researchers, academics and students in the fields of political economy, business and society, corporate governance, business ethics, corporate social responsibility and sustainability, the book will additionally be of value to practitioners, supplying them with information regarding the challenges associated with the shaping of sustainable or 'civilised' market capitalism for a better world"--

Since the European Union's de-regulation policy for electricity and energy suppliers was implemented, new strategic configurations have emerged. Traditional restraints of geographical limitations on energy companies have been partly removed: the diversity at national regulatory and company level means that the European scene is one of a multiplicity of strategic configurations and developments, whilst also being complex and segmented. This book highlights the strategic and regulatory challenges of European deregulation, with its main focus being on the business strategies within the emerging de-regulated electricity markets; various regulatory implications which are being raised in this new climate are discussed. Some of the central strategic issues facing the electricity industry in its new competitive context are explored and reviewed, with classical themes debated as a prelude to the following empirical investigation of actual business strategies pursued by the electricity and energy industries. The main section of this work consists of 7 national case studies of business strategies which also include one North and one South American case. These were considered important inclusions as the North American companies are large investors in the European market, whilst the European companies invest in the South American market. The final chapter is a comparison and summary of the national patterns of market structures, business strategies and regulatory styles with a brief look at some challenges to be faced in future.

Governance and Business Models for Sustainable Capitalism touches upon many of the central themes of today's debate on business and society. In particular, it brings attention to a recurrent tension between efficiency, innovation, and productivity on the one hand, and fairness, equity, and sustainability on the other. The book argues that we need radical rethinking of business models and economic governance, beyond the classical doctrine, which sees social and ecological responsibility as lying with public-policy regulation of purely profit-seeking firms. In spite of the popular CSR agenda, business – as we know it today – is both too transient and too limited in its motivation to carry the regulatory burden. We need to adopt a much wider concept of 'partnered governance', where advanced states and pioneering companies work together to raise the social and environmental bar. The book suggests that civil engagements based on moral rather than formal rights, and amplified through the media, may provide a healthy challenge both to autocratic planning and to solely profit-centered commercialization. The book also proposes a triple cycle theory of innovation for sustainability: a novel framing of the efficacy of green and prosocial entrepreneurship as intertwined with political visions and supportive institutions. In addition, the book offers reflections on the ways in which further digital robotizaton may enable transition to an 'Agora Economy' where productive efficiency is combined with expanded civic freedoms. Aimed primarily at researchers, academics, and students in the fields of political economy, business and society, corporate governance, business ethics, corporate social responsibility, and sustainability, the book will additionally be of value to practitioners, supplying them with information regarding the challenges associated with the shaping of sustainable or 'civilised' market capitalism for a better world.

This study focuses on the cognitive premises for common Nordic energy-related environmental policy as expressed by representatives of Nordic environmental & energy ministries & authorities. Methodologically, it makes use of the cognitive mapping approach. A comparison of the core elements of the conceptual maps reveals that, in spite of a clear recognition of the need for closer integration of the Nordic policies, fundamental differences in the basic conceptualization remain. In a three-polar space with democratic planning, competitive market organization & industrial policy/technological development orientation in each of the three corners, the Danish respondents clearly comes closest to the democratic planning pole, while the Norwegian clearly tends more towards market orientation. Swedish & Finnish government officials both tend towards an industrial policy/technology orientation, although with market-orientated undertones. Beyond their basic orientation in regulatory style, however, the Nordic countries also differ in the specific issues that are salient on the national energy & environmental agendas. 5 Figures, 13 References. Adapted from the source document.

The article comments on Katzenstein's small‐state/flexible adjustment thesis on the basis of the recent economic development in Norway. It is argued that the Norwegian case in the 1970s and 1980s provides a quasi‐experimental situation where the years before and after the 1986 oil‐price fall permit a discussion of some of the limitations of his theory. The article argues that the Katzenstein thesis needs qualifications on at least three points: (1) Size and competitive exposure do not always coincide, as assumed in a strong formulation of the thesis. (2) A discussion of national competitiveness based on highly aggregated indicators may miss important sectoral differences that can be of crucial importance to the national political economy. (3) The question of the adaptive effects of integrative, negotiated and non‐polarized styles of policy‐making in small states has to be modified. Because Katzenstein's basic idea seems theoretically sound, and seems to hold up to at least aggregated data, the issue is not rejection, but rather a modification, and an attempt to specify some of the elements that constitute the relevant condition‐set.

What effect does a sector‐based negotiated economy have on industrial transformation, and what are the institutional mechanisms involved in negotiated sector‐regulation? These questions are tentatively answered through an analysis of the political economy of one of Norway's most important industrial sectors: the hydropower and energy‐intensive industry. The study focuses on factors that have allowed the sector to continue to expand throughout the 1970s and 1980s in spite of failing economic return and extensive political opposition. The over‐expansion is explained through the partial closure and self‐refercnciality found in the sector's regulatory system, which provides it with relative autonomy in relation to us economic and political environment. It is suggested that the pattern found in the hydropower and energy‐intensive sector may be typical of heavy industrial sectors in modern economies.

PurposeThis paper seeks to take stock of core arguments in some of the most central governance traditions and to discuss their capacity to deliver solutions. It starts with an appraisal of the strengths and weaknesses of the ideas of market‐, state‐ and civil‐society‐led governance, but also factors in the effect of media and communication as governance arenas in their own right. Then it aims to review core arguments put forward in broader approaches to governance where multiple governance mechanisms are combined.Design/methodology/approachThis is a conceptual paper that reviews central approaches in the governance literature and their ability to further sustainable development. The review is taken as a basis for tentative formulations of new supplementary governance approaches.FindingsOut of the critical analysis the paper distils is an approach to governance that combines three basic elements: First, a re‐interpretation of Montesquieu's principle of checks and balances – applied not only to state institutions, but also to the interplay between the state, markets and civil society. Second, an argument for polyarchic, multilevel governance, where flexible institutional frameworks, at various levels of aggregation, allow actors to jointly engage in developing governance. Third, it argues that open communication may constitute an important governance element. It ends by recognising that global governance, going forward, will include a mix of parallel governance models, in some ways competing for hegemony, but supporting one another in other ways.Originality/valueThe originality/value of the paper lies in its critical assessment of central current governance theories and in its launch of new supplementary governance approaches.