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Public affairs and political strategy: theoretical foundations
Author(s) -
Getz Kathleen A.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
journal of public affairs
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.221
H-Index - 20
eISSN - 1479-1854
pISSN - 1472-3891
DOI - 10.1002/pa.77
Subject(s) - positive political theory , transaction cost , resource dependence theory , agency (philosophy) , politics , game theory , public choice , collective action , political philosophy , principal–agent problem , theory of the firm , sociology , positive economics , population , extant taxon , economics , political science , social science , management , neoclassical economics , law , microeconomics , corporate governance , demography , evolutionary biology , biology
During the past two decades there have been hundreds of articles published within the broad topic of business political strategy, many of them rigorous and innovative. This paper presents a review and assessment of the theoretical bases of extant research, focusing on three broad research questions: Why do firms participate in the political process? What strategies and tactics do firms employ? What are the limitations on firms' capacity for rational action in the political arena? Research in political strategy has been informed by interest group theory, collective action theory, public choice theory, transaction costs theory, game theory, resource dependence theory, institutional theory, agency theory, the behavioural theory of the firm, business strategy, and population ecology. The paper concludes with a plea to scholars to conduct research in this area which is explicitly and consistently grounded in broad theories of social science. Copyright © 2001 Henry Stewart Publications