N. Fligstein et I. Maradrita, HOW TO MAKE A MARKET - REFLECTIONS ON THE ATTEMPT TO CREATE A SINGLE MARKET IN THE EUROPEAN-UNION, American journal of sociology, 102(1), 1996, pp. 1-33
Theories about institution-building episodes emphasize either rational
or social and cultural elements. Our research on the Single Market Pr
ogram (SMP) of the European Union (EU) shows that both elements are pa
rt of the process. When the EU was caught in a stalemate, the European
Commission devised the SMP. The commission worked within the constrai
nts of existing institutional arrangements, provided a ''cultural fram
e,'' and helped create an elite social movement. This examination of t
he SMP legislation, using an institutional approach to the sociology o
f markets, shows how the commission was able to do this by trading off
the interests of important state and corporate actors.