Germany’s Industrial strategy 2030, EU competition policy and the Crisis of New Constitutionalism. (Geo-)political economy of a contested paradigm shift

Legitimisation of Foreign Direct Investment Screening Among Business Actors: The Danish Case

“…Existing research often explains business policy stances in investment regulation based on rational choice models (Bauerle Danzman, 2019;Schneider, 2023), where businesses are deemed rational actors with clear "exogenously given" interests. These models are based on a materialist understanding of business "rationality," linked to welfare maximisation, and are well suited to explain economic actors' behaviour in situations of institutional stability and well-functioning markets.…”

“…Whether such policies result from heavy lobbying and reflect clear business interests (Bauerle Danzman, 2019;Keller, 2018;Young, 2016) or business interests being shaped by governments themselves (Roederer-Rynning et al, 2020;Woll, 2008), the common understanding is that an overall consensus among policymakers and economic interest groups is needed for a policy to be adopted. With regard to FDI regulation, the literature tells us that local business actors tend to (a) push for the restriction of foreign entry to avoid competition and increased labour costs, (b) favour more liberal FDI policies to gain access to foreign technologies or investment financing (Bauerle Danzman, 2019), (c) define their investment policy interests depending on market orientation and structural position (Schneider, 2023), and/or (d) influence concrete investment transactions to advance their commercial interests (Graham & Marchick, 2006). Against this widely accepted perception that domestic firms have clear interests and a strong influence over the outcomes of commercial policies, other scholars emphasise that business actors act reactively under uncertainty and that their interests are shaped depending on institutional and social contexts (Roederer-Rynning et al, 2020;Woll, 2008).…”

“…Some scholars mention that businesses can engage in politicising screening processes to advance their commercial interests (Graham & Marchick, 2006). Some say that business actors do not take proactive measures and seem to be uninfluential in bringing about these policies despite some pronouncements against growing interventionism (Bauerle Danzman & Meunier, 2021; Kang, 1997), particularly from firms oriented towards Chinese markets (Schneider, 2023). Some even argue that businesses may be quite open to screening regulations as they allegedly share their goals (Wernicke, 2021) and that some business groups have experienced "ideological reorientation" towards China (Schneider, 2023).…”

“…Some say that business actors do not take proactive measures and seem to be uninfluential in bringing about these policies despite some pronouncements against growing interventionism (Bauerle Danzman & Meunier, 2021; Kang, 1997), particularly from firms oriented towards Chinese markets (Schneider, 2023). Some even argue that businesses may be quite open to screening regulations as they allegedly share their goals (Wernicke, 2021) and that some business groups have experienced "ideological reorientation" towards China (Schneider, 2023). Despite these important insights, existing research falls short of explaining how business actors perceive investment screening policies, whether and how they engage with policymakers in their development, and if not, then why?…”

Shaping the Metaverse into Reality: A Holistic Multidisciplinary Understanding of Opportunities, Challenges, and Avenues for Future Investigation

“…To answer this, we draw upon the guiding principles of the National Industry Strategy 2030 50 , which can be briefly summarized as 1) enhance industrial capability through technological driven innovation such as digitization, artificial intelligence, and manufacturing 2) structure optimization and emphasis on quality, 3) promoting and maintaining access to and mastery of such technologies, and 4) to maintain and encourage "industrial and technological sovereignty" through reshoring global value chains. 51 Along this, we opine that the metaverse offers significant opportunities for manufacturing operations management on three broad levels: 1) individuals or firms that design factory layouts and components to be manufactured, 2) individuals or firms that set up production centers and produce commodities; and 3) individuals or firms that view and receive the finished products. Ultimately, these will be the key aspects of a metaverse that transforms the manufacturing landscape.…”