Corporate Political Activity, Reimagined: Revisiting the Political Marketplace

Abstract

We update the literature on corporate attempts to influence political actors, and thereby shape their governmental outcomes. Doing so allows us to recognize where the field has advanced, where it has not, and, importantly, reimagine an agenda for research moving forward. Our review documents areas of research and levels of analyses within the literature and identifies a core and secondary issues including the overrepresentation of lobbying and campaign contributions, the U.S. context, legislatures as targets of CPA, and firm policy and financial outcomes. We use the review to update the conceptualization of the political marketplace, including the introduction of a new categorization of corporate political activity tactics (CPA) along the dimensions of formality and directness. What we call our political marketplace 2.0 then allows for an expanded agenda for research in the field, moving forward. Our review works together with a companion review on Corporate Political Connections, published in this same issue, to offer a holistic perspective on the boundary between corporations and political actors.