Introduction

Abstract

This chapter introduces the reader to the theme of the book and to the research questions. It starts out by presenting intriguing cases where industry sectors have occasionally come under considerable public pressure, but where overall ample room is left for corporate discretion in relevant areas of regulation. This tension is addressed in the book’s research questions: To what extent are corporations threatened by regulation, and to what extent do they themselves pose a challenge to regulation? How do corporations use various power resources in order to prevent, shape, make or revoke regulation? The chapter briefly presents the book’s key arguments about the distinct types of power which corporations hold as experts, innovators and operators, and lays out the structure of the book.