Title: Is there a relationship between governance mechanisms and regulatory capture: the mediating effects of regulation

Authors: Kuo-Tai Cheng

Addresses: Department of Environmental and Cultural Resources, National Hsinchu University of Education, Hsinchu City, Taiwan

Abstract: This study used path analysis to test a model positing that relevant governance mechanisms will have both direct and indirect relationships with regulatory captures (RCs) through the mediating effects of regulation. Based on a sample (n = 193) of regulatory public employees, results generally supported the hypothesised model for both supervisor- and self-assessed RCs. Accountability had a direct relationship with individual regulatory captures (RC-I), participation had a direct relationship with organisational regulatory captures (RC-O), and regulation had a direct relationship with both RC-I and RC-O. In addition, regulation partially mediated the relationship between accountability and both RC-O and RC-I. Overall, the results show that governance mechanisms differentially predict RCs and that regulators' attitudes about their regulation explain, in part, these associations between governance mechanisms and regulatory captures.

Keywords: regulation effects; regulatory governance; regulatory capture; National Communications Commission; Taiwan; governance mechanisms; mediating effects; regulator attitudes.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTPM.2015.072799

International Journal of Technology, Policy and Management, 2015 Vol.15 No.4, pp.378 - 394

Received: 12 Jan 2015
Accepted: 30 May 2015
Published online: 03 Nov 2015 *

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