TY - JOUR
T1 - Regulatory intermediaries and value conflicts in policy implementation
T2 - Religious organizations and life-and-death policies in Belgium
AU - Ciornei, Irina
AU - Euchner, Eva-Maria
AU - Preisner, Michalina
AU - Yesil, Ilay
PY - 2022/10/18
Y1 - 2022/10/18
N2 - This article makes important contributions to governance research by studying the implementation of policies with high potential for goal incongruence between intermediaries and regulators. Building on a regulatory intermediation framework and prevailing theories from organizational institutionalism, we propose an original typology that classifies intermediaries' strategies for coping with challenging regulations. Furthermore, we explain the choice of these strategies based on intermediaries' value systems, the degree of interdependency with the regulator, and policy ambiguity. The empirical strategy is based on the case of Catholic, Protestant, and Muslim religious organizations engaged in the implementation of abortion and euthanasia policies in Belgium. These latter constitute a typical case of policy implementation that prompts value conflicts between permissive official regulations and intermediaries' conservative values on life-and-death issues.
AB - This article makes important contributions to governance research by studying the implementation of policies with high potential for goal incongruence between intermediaries and regulators. Building on a regulatory intermediation framework and prevailing theories from organizational institutionalism, we propose an original typology that classifies intermediaries' strategies for coping with challenging regulations. Furthermore, we explain the choice of these strategies based on intermediaries' value systems, the degree of interdependency with the regulator, and policy ambiguity. The empirical strategy is based on the case of Catholic, Protestant, and Muslim religious organizations engaged in the implementation of abortion and euthanasia policies in Belgium. These latter constitute a typical case of policy implementation that prompts value conflicts between permissive official regulations and intermediaries' conservative values on life-and-death issues.
KW - Morality policies
KW - Regulatory intermediaries
KW - Religious organizations
UR - https://www.webofscience.com/api/gateway?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=uab_pure&SrcAuth=WosAPI&KeyUT=WOS:000869560100001&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=WOS
U2 - 10.1111/rego.12500
DO - 10.1111/rego.12500
M3 - Article
SN - 1748-5983
VL - 17
SP - 1076
EP - 1093
JO - Regulation & Governance
JF - Regulation & Governance
IS - 4
ER -