Can expert feedback improve SMEs' views of government's regulatory legitimacy? Evidence from Thailand
This pilot study finds that firms which participate in an online space, has a positive impact on firms' perception of the quality of the consultation process and their view of the government’s regulatory legitimacy.
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Hicken-et-al-Policy-brief-April-2023.pdf
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- Past research indicates that an in-person Notice and Comment (N&C) process improves regulatory compliance by increasing trust in government. But these findings may not directly transfer to a digital N&C process.
- The lack of direct human interactions can lead firms to feel unheard and disengaged and thus undermine their views of the government’s regulatory legitimacy and efforts toward compliance.
- To deal with such backlash, our team implemented a ‘Regulatory Room’, allowing representatives from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to meet with legal experts who provide advice on the comprehensibility, relevance, and feasibility of their comments.
- The pilot study found that participating in the Regulatory Room has a positive impact on firms’ perception of the quality of the consultation process and firms’ view of the government’s regulatory legitimacy.
- The conclusion suggests that governments should extend access to legal experts for resource-constrained stakeholders and consider other innovations to improve the quality of the consultation process.