Industry Self-Regulation: An Economic, Organizational, and Political Analysis

Researchers generally have viewed nonmarket regulation of firm behavior as synonymous with direct regulation by the government. This paper highlights industry self-regulation as an alternative form of nonmarket regulation that, depending on the context, may supplement or complement direct regulation by the government. Further, on the basis of exploratory economic, organizational, and political analysis, it advances, for possible future research, propositions relating to the existence, operation, and out-come of industry self-regulation.