The Structure of Corporate Political Action: Interfirm Relations and Their Consequences.

The power of big business is one of the perennial issues in American political life. In this book Mark Mizruchi asks to what extent are large corporations unified politically - or, more precisely, when do companies agree on issues and when do they disagree? This is an important question in a democracy whose vitality depends on a wide sharing of power. Adopting a structural model of social action. Mizruchi examines the effects of factors such as geographic proximity, common industry membership stock ownership, and interlocking directorates on the campaign contributions of corporate PACs and corporate testimony before Congress. He finds that organizational and social networks among firms have the greatest effect in determining similar political behaviour. These results establish for the first time that the nature of relationships among firms is what generates business unity, more so than other forms of common interest. This kind of structural united front is what leads to the important political successes of big business.