Management, Technology and Regulation: The hydro-power sector in Norway

This article is a theoretical and empirical discussion about regional effects of foreign direct ownership, and the connection with firm strategies, technological innovation, and regulatory change. Empirical evidence is from Norway’s hydropower sector, in which foreign ownership has played an important role since its inception. Ownership is a “hot issue” after deregulation in the 1990s. Organisational theory and economic geography literature form the basis for the theoretical section. The paper is based on a study for the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy on the implications of future regulatory changes on the hydropower sector. The study followed a request from the EFTA Surveillance Authorities to the Norwegian Government for information about the structure and regulation of the energy sector.