EU Regulation: Implications for the Industry Government Relationship and the Pattern of Innovation

1
EU Regulation Implications for the Industry
Government Relationship and the Pattern of
Innovation

• Evita Paraskevopoulou
• EU-US Early Career Researcher Conference on
  Research and Innovation Studies
• University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands
• July 2008

2
Conceptual Background

• Public intervention and innovation
• Policies in disguise (Stoneman, 1994)
• Sectoral Regulations Unintended effects of
  public action on innovation
• Actors and interactions at the core of the
  analysis
• Empirical evidence regulations framing the
  activity of the detergents industry

3
Enfolding literature

• What do we mean by regulation?
• Constraint of action?
• Enabling institution
• Regulation and innovation
• Two directional relationship
• Direct and indirect effects
• The politics of EU regulation
• Characteristics of the EU policy making
• Response of firms to the changing environment

4
Empirical Focus

• The detergents industry
• The product
• Mature market
• Large firms
• Innovation dynamics
• Drivers of innovation
• Main innovations
• Barriers to innovation
• Legislative Background
• Detergents Regulation 2004
• REACH
• GHS
• Biocides Directive

5
Research design

• Desk research to identify, main actors, main
  regulations, innovation dynamics of the industry
• Semi structured in-depth interviews with
  different type of actors, mapping of their
  interactions and mode of participation

6
Detergents Regulation 2004
7
REACH
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Response to regulatory pressure

• Voluntary Industry Initiatives
• 1991 ERASM (Environmental Risk Assessment and
  Management), a joint AISE/CESIO initiative,
  www.erasm.org
• 1998 Washright Campaign, AISE initiative
  providing a Code of Good Environmental Practice
  for household laundry detergents.
  www.washright.com
• 1999 HERA (Human Environmental Risk
  Assessment) project on ingredients of household
  cleaning products, joint AISE/CESIO initiative,
  www.heraproject.com
• 2001 DUCC (Downstream users of Chemicals
  Co-ordination Group), a platform to address
  REACHs objectives
• 2004 AISE Charter of Sustainable Development

9
Information sharing, collaboration, innovation?

• Regulation gtgtgt Consortia
• Consortia

Information and cost sharing, capabilities of
the firms
Bargaining Power, Influence of the institutional
environment
10
Conclusions Impact of regulation on

• Government Industry Relationship
• new actors new roles
• evolution of large firms into major political
  players
• increased collaboration between public and public
  sectors
• resource dependencies
• Innovation pattern
• Two directional relationship
• Coalitions as knowledge diffusion mechanisms
• More knowledgeable firms gt increased bargaining
  power gt influence on the institutional
  environment