Global governance conceptualization and the case of hotel classification

This paper analyses the establishment of international hotel quality regime via the current conceptualization of the world order as global governance (GG). It asks: What are the major characteristics of the concept of GG, and to what extent it captures adequately changes in the global political order? The concept of GG refers to macro-structural and micro-operational groups of characteristics. The GG literature tends to focus more on the macro level and less on the way GG events operate internally. The focus on the structural attributes leads to a consensus among researchers regarding the applicability of GG conceptualization, between international management events before and after the 1980s. Based on the above distinction between GG macro and micro characteristics and its application to the case study on international hotel classification system, the paper argues that GG conceptualization can be also applied to international governing events before the 1980s, albeit with varying degrees.