Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- List of Figures
- List of Tables
- Acknowledgements
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Where Does Political Influence Come From?
- 3 How Does Public Opinion Shape Corporate Political Advocacy?
- 4 Why Does the Public Care About Corporate Political Influence?
- 5 Why Do Companies Care About Public Opinion?
- 6 Do Companies Try to Avoid Public Backlash?
- 7 So What and Now What? Summaries and Concluding Thoughts
- Appendix A: Interview Methods
- Appendix B: Chapter 4 Study Methodology and Full Results
- Appendix C: Chapter 5 Robustness Checks
- Appendix D: Chapter 6 Robustness Checks
- References
- Index
- Series page
2 - Where Does Political Influence Come From?
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 April 2022
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- List of Figures
- List of Tables
- Acknowledgements
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Where Does Political Influence Come From?
- 3 How Does Public Opinion Shape Corporate Political Advocacy?
- 4 Why Does the Public Care About Corporate Political Influence?
- 5 Why Do Companies Care About Public Opinion?
- 6 Do Companies Try to Avoid Public Backlash?
- 7 So What and Now What? Summaries and Concluding Thoughts
- Appendix A: Interview Methods
- Appendix B: Chapter 4 Study Methodology and Full Results
- Appendix C: Chapter 5 Robustness Checks
- Appendix D: Chapter 6 Robustness Checks
- References
- Index
- Series page
Summary
Why do companies perceive a need to influence politics? What is political influence? How can companies obtain political influence? In this chapter, I answer all of those questions, drawing on research in several fields and on interviews with lobbyists, politicians, and others with first-hand experience with political influence. I explain that political influence is fundamentally about building and maintaining relationships with people in power. I argue that problem-solving is one way companies can form relationships, and I discuss common problems elected officials face: the need for money, the need for information, and the need to do their jobs well (or to be perceived as such). I conclude this chapter by discussing which influence-seeking strategies this implies, other than the strategies commonly studied, and discuss how this lends itself to questioning why companies choose different strategies.
Keywords
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- Chapter
- Information
- The Cost of Doing PoliticsHow Partisanship and Public Opinion Shape Corporate Influence, pp. 22 - 50Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2022