The Domestic Politics model

Abstract

Company-specific differences between ExxonMobil, Shell and Statoil can shed light on differences in their climate strategies to only a limited extent. Chapter 4 revealed that company-specific features with implications for climate strategies are marked more by similarities than differences. The CA model is also incapable of explaining changes in corporate climate strategies. We explore whether the national political contexts in which the companies operate prove more capable of explaining corporate climate strategy. As shown in chapter 2, there is reason to believe that the relationship between the companies’ home-base countries and corporate strategies is important. This link will be analysed in a comparative perspective with the guidance of the Domestic Politics (DP) model. The DP model highlights the extent of social demand for environmental quality, the type of climate policy supplied by the government, and the way in which political institutions link supply and demand, that is, the relationship between state and industry. The basic assumption is that differences in corporate climate strategies can be traced back to differences along these dimensions in the home-base countries of the companies. More specifically, we assume that a high social demand, supply of an ambitious climate policy, and a link between state and industry characterised by cooperation and consensus seeking will lead to a proactive strategy. Conversely, a low social demand, a lenient climate policy, and political institutions that promote conflict and imposition are expected to lead to a reactive climate policy. In this chapter, we focus on the Netherlands, Norway and the 2543Chap5 16/7/03 9:58 am Page 104