The literature has struggled to explain why the global financial crisis (GFC) of
2008-09, has failed to translate into major change to the neoliberal model of
capitalism. Arguably, this is due to the literature’s narrow conception of
corporate power exerting itself through direct and purposive intervention in
the policymaking process—the ’top-down’ view of institutional change. The
answer may lie in a broader understanding of corporate influence,
incorporating the role of firm practices in shaping the law—the ‘bottom-up’
perspective. Despite mounting consensus on the mechanisms of such change,
our wider understanding of it is still limited. In order to explore the role of
bottom-up change in times of major crisis, we need to explore its firm-level
antecedents and contextualize the dynamics of bottom-up change processes,
i.e. how it is mediated by public discourse and crisis situations. Building on
actor-centered institutionalism and incorporating aspects of constructivist and
sociological institutionalism, this study contributes to this endeavor by
examining a set of interrelated relationships, conceptualized as constituting a
triangle between public discourse, corporate practice, and the law. The
comparative, mixed-methods research design combines macro-level analysis
of legal and regulatory change, micro-level analysis of changes in corporate
practice, and change in public discourse in three institutional spheres (finance
& accounting, corporate governance, labor relations) across four countries
(Switzerland, Germany, United Kingdom, United States) over a 19-year
period (1995-2013). While bottom-up change may be limited in scope under
‘normal’ circumstances, it is found to take on a central role during major
crises. Direct and purposive channels of corporate influence on legal change
become less effective in such circumstances, but the indirect channels of
bottom-up change appear to open up and enable the perpetuation of
corporate power throughout such events.
The Triangle of Institutional Change: Public Discourse, Corporate Practice, and the Law
Kern, P. (Author). 2016
Student thesis: Doctoral Thesis › Doctor of Philosophy