Introduction

The emergence of systems of transnational regulation and governance in the last decade has been a considerable challenge to authors studying patterns of business and management from an institutionalist perspective. One view, expounded most clearly in Whitley, is that “as long as the nation state remains the primary unit of political competition, legitimacy and definer and upholder of private property rights, in addition to being the predominant influence on labor market institutions, many characteristics of business systems will continue to vary significantly across national boundaries” (Whitley 2005a: 224). Inevitably such arguments are countered by contrary claims showing how, in specific areas, forms of transnational governance are emerging, what Djelic and Quack refer to as “the progressive transnationalization of a few actors, strategies and logics” (Djelic and Quack 2003: 11).

In this chapter, I examine this issue through distinguishing three elements – transnational social spaces, transnational actors and transnational institutions. As transnational phenomena, each of these elements emerges out of the dynamics of globalization and the weakening of nation-states as frameworks for economic coordination. However, each of them emerges out of different processes and this affects how their interdependence evolves. By distinguishing these elements, it becomes possible to understand the broader phenomenon of the emergence of a transnational sphere as complex and contingent.

I explore these ideas through examining transnationalization in relation to competition law. As Djelic and Kleiner (ch. 14) show, the emergence of transnational governance of competition law is very recent.