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The MNC‐Coalition Paradox: Issue Salience, Foreign Firms and the General Data Protection Regulation
Author(s) -
Kalyanpur Nikhil,
Newman Abraham L.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
jcms: journal of common market studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.54
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1468-5965
pISSN - 0021-9886
DOI - 10.1111/jcms.12810
Subject(s) - multinational corporation , legitimacy , salience (neuroscience) , civil liberties , european union , law and economics , politics , general data protection regulation , argument (complex analysis) , business , legislation , data protection act 1998 , political economy , international trade , economics , political science , law , psychology , biochemistry , chemistry , cognitive psychology
Abstract While the EU takes on an increasingly global regulatory role, we have only a limited understanding of how or when foreign firms influence EU regulation. Multinational Corporations (MNCs) have many of the power resources that determine lobbying success. We argue, however, that high salience blunts foreign corporate power. High salience generates legitimacy concerns for EU institutions, creating a political opportunity structure that favours pluralistic participation. Civil society can point to the instrumental power of foreign firms as a means to contaminate business interests, amplifying consumer voices in the process. We label this the MNC‐Coalition paradox. We investigate the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation to assess our argument, as the revelations made public by Edward Snowden created an exogenous shock in salience. Highlighting the presence of MNCs – such as Google and Facebook – in the lobbying process allowed civil society leaders to delegitimize business preferences and bolster consumer protection. In addition to the theoretical contribution, our evidence sheds light on the policy process behind legislation that will shape fundamental civil liberties and privacy rights not only for Europeans but globally.