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Corporate Political Activity: A Review and Research Agenda

Amy J. Hillman

Department of Management, Arizona State University, Box 874006, Tempe, AZ 85287-4006, USAamy.hillman{at}asu.edu

Gerald D. Keim

Department of Management, Arizona State University, Box 874006 Tempe, AZ 85287-4006, USAgerry.keim{at}asu.edu

Douglas Schuler

Jones Graduate School of Business, Rice University, 6100 Main St. MS-531, Houston, TX 77005, USAschuler{at}rice.edu

Corporate political activities, or corporate attempts to shape government policy in ways favorable to the firm, are commonly employed by firms across countries. We review recent scholarly work from management, political science, economics and sociology in the area of corporate political activity (CPA), paying particular attention to the literature published since Shaffer’s [Shaffer, B. 1995. Firm-level responses to government regulation: Theoretical and research approaches. Journal of Management, 21: 495–514] review. To integrate this literature we provide a model of the antecedents of CPA, the different types of CPA, how firms organize to implement CPA and the outcomes of CPA both for public policy and firm performance. We conclude our review by proposing an agenda for future research in the area.

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Journal of Management, Vol. 30, No. 6, 837-857 (2004)
DOI: 10.1016/j.jm.2004.06.003
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