The Democratic Legitimacy of Business Interest Representation in the European Union: Normative Implications of the Logic of Access

This paper studies the capacity of business interests to contribute to the democratic legitimacy of EU governance through participation in the EU policy-making process. Whereas the unbalanced participation of business as opposed to non-business interests in EU policy-making has been problematized, no research has been conducted regarding the unequal participation of different organizational forms of business interest representation (companies, associations and consultants). Here, first it is argued on the basis of a theory of access that this unequal participation has important repercussions because the different organizational forms do not have the same potential to contribute to the legitimacy of EU governance. The theoretical approach makes it possible to bridge the gap between the EU legitimacy debate and the literature on EU business interest representation by establishing a relationship between the new concept of ‘access goods’ and the existing notions of input/output legitimacy. Second, an empirical investigation of business interest participation is undertaken in order to systematically assess the empirical relevance of the normative propositions and consequently to make inferences about the democratic legitimacy of business interest participation in the EU policy-making process.

A knowledge perspective on HRM activities: what matters for HRM?.

This stuy discusses the HRM literature and models from a knowledge perspective relying on the distinction between component and architectural knowledge. Given this distinction, it examines the influence of HRM activities on client orientation, felt responsibility, psychological attachment and cooperative attitude, four main characteristics of a learning organisation.Knowledge;

Managing continuity: dealing with the experience of being target in a take-over.

Based upon literature on innovation and strategy, the experience of being target in a take-over is studied from a process perspective at a local office of the acquired parent company. Through a case study the impact and importance of the management of continuity provided by the local management is illustrated.

A Theoretical and Empirical Study of Corporate Lobbying in the European Parliament

This paper is an attempt to empirically test a theory of access that investigates the logic behind the apparent ad hoc lobbying behavior of business interests in the European Parliament. The theoretical framework tries to explain the degree of access of different organizational forms of business interest representation (companies, associations and consultants) to the European Parliament in terms of a theory of the supply and demand of "access goods". The generated hypotheses are analyzed in an empirical study of the EU financial services sector. On the basis of 14 exploratory and 27 semi-structured interviews the hypotheses are checked in the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs of the European Parliament

A Comparative Study of Business Lobbying in the European Parliament, the European Commission and the Council of Ministers

The aim of this paper is to empirically test a theory of access that investigates the logic behind the apparent ad hoc lobbying behavior of business interests in the EU multi-level system. First, I propose the theoretical framework that attempts to explain the access of different organizational forms of business interest representation (companies, associations and consultants) to the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers. The degree of access to these institutions is explained in terms of a theory of supply and demand of access goods. Access goods concern information that is crucial in the EU policymaking process. In return for access to an EU institution, business interests have to provide the access good(s) demanded by that institution. I then derive a number of specific hypotheses about the access of the aforementioned organizational forms. These hypotheses are analyzed in an extensive empirical study of the EU financial services sector. On the basis of 126 exploratory and semi-structured interviews the hypotheses are checked across the three EU institutions.Ziel dieses Papers ist die empirische Prüfung einer Theorie des Zugangs, in der untersucht wird, welche Logik hinter dem anscheinenden Ad-hoc-Lobbying-Verhalten bei Vertretern von Wirtschaftsinteressen im Mehrebenensystem der EU steckt. Auf der Basis des zugrunde gelegten theoretischen Rahmens wird erläutert, wie verschiedene Organisationsformen der Vertretung von Wirtschaftsinteressen (Unternehmen, Verbände, Beratungsfirmen) Zugang zur Europäischen Kommission, zum Europäischen Parlament und zum Ministerrat finden. Anhand einer Theorie von Angebot und Nachfrage von Zugangsgütern (“access goods”) wird herausgearbeitet, inwieweit diese Interessensvertreter Zugang zu den genannten Institutionen erhalten. Zugangsgüter betreffen Informationen, die für den Entscheidungsprozess der EU wesentlich sind. Um Zugang zu einer EU-Institution zu erhalten, müssen die Interessensvertreter die von der jeweiligen Institution nachgefragten Zugangsgüter liefern. Den Abschluß des Discussion Papers bildet eine Reihe von Hypothesen darüber, wie der Zugang der genannten Organisationsformen erfolgt. Die Hypothesen werden im Rahmen einer umfassenden empirischen Untersuchung des EU-Finanzdienstleistungssektors analysiert und auf der Grundlage von 126 explorativen und halbstrukturierten Interviews für die drei EU-Institutionen überprüft

Innovation as a community-spanning process: strategies to handle path dependency.

In this paper, we further develop and apply the notions of path creation and path dependency during technological innovation processes. The process of technological innovation is portrayed as an activity of spanning boundaries between and across communities of practitioners. Communities of practice are characterised by shared beliefs, evaluation routines and artefacts. These beliefs, routines and artefacts create powerful path-dependencies that inhibit path-breaking innovations. Based on exploratory empirical research, a model on handling path-dependency during the creation of technological innovations is proposed.Processes; Strategy; Evaluation; Innovations; Model;

Time, space and constructive capabilities. Translating paradoxical innovation requirements into comprehensive organizational arrangements: a socio-cognitive perspective.

When innovating, interaction is beneficial for (1) exploring problem definition spaces and (2) exploiting them. The social processes in which both activities unfold, display paradoxical characteristics which can be addressed by introducing space and time as (organizational) design variables. Complementary arrangements that connect space and time are needed in order for such organizational forms to be sustainable. Propositions in this respect, which build directly on the specific nature of knowledge creation processes, are elaborated.Characteristics; Design; Innovation; Knowledge; Processes; Requirements; Space; Time; Variables;

Brain/Tumor Crosstalk in Cerebral Cortex:Studies of small- and large-scale cerebral network functioning in peritumoral cortex from human and mouse

This thesis describes a collection of investigations on the peritumoral cerebral cortex andtumor-related epileptogenic alterations at a macroscopic and microscopic scale