Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: For most of the last decade research on the emergence of, and support for, non-state market driven governance has understandably focused on dynamics within a single sector. This paper seeks to contribute to the nascent work on cross-sectoral and broader global dynamics of NSMD systems by carefully theorizing about, and identifying differences in, the emergence of NSMD across sectors. Reviewing the cases of forestry, tourism, coffee and mining, we will focus specifically on four seemingly critical factors that influence NSMD dynamics: the market?s ?supply chain? structure (including degree of vertical integration and number of suppliers); the costs and benefits facing firms along the supply chain (e.g. forest owners undergo cost imposition in the case of forest certification but Fair Trade coffee certification provides growers with economic benefits); the nature of the good being regulated (e.g. whether it is ingested by humans) and the emergence and structure of the governing institutions (including the impact of institutional emulation versus institutional creation and the degree of institutional reflexivity). The paper has two primary audiences. First, the paper aims to facilitate future scholarship on the emergence of NSMD systems, from understanding better initial phases in which short term cost benefit calculations are critical, to their longer term institutionalization and legitimation dynamics. For non-governmental actors, the paper will shed light on their strategic choices regarding their championing of, and support for, NSMD systems.