Appendix 7 - Models of consulting for trade associations

Summary

Using the data from the EA, I also estimated models of the hiring of grassroots public affairs consultants by trade associations, using two subject areas of this data source: trade associations and chambers of commerce. I included the majority of the same measures as displayed in Table 6.1, although there are some differences: (1) due to concerns of missing data among these associations, the measure of budget is omitted, (2) the measure of federated structure is simplified to include only the dummy variable for the presence of state chapters (a significant predictor among other advocacy organizations), (3) it does not display results analogous to Model 2 (on non-membership associations), and (4) it adds a dummy variable for whether the association represents a highly regulated industry. Findings from these models are presented in Table A.2.

Importantly, these findings tell a largely similar story both to the model of consultant hiring by corporations and to that of hiring by associations. First, consistent with the discussion in Chapter 5, regulated industries are significantly more likely to hire a consultant. In additional analyses, I examined which regulated industry was most likely to hire a public affairs consultant; these investigations revealed that trade associations for the insurance, petroleum, real estate, and transportation and warehousing industries were among the most likely to hire a consultant. Pharmaceuticals, telecom firms, alcohol interests, and banks/credit unions also appeared regularly. Second, the organizational characteristics that were significant predictors of hiring a consultant among non-trade advocacy groups are generally the same as those that mattered for trade associations: professionalization, membership size, having state chapters, and having a headquarters in the nation’s capital.