 Outsourcing government relations: Use of outside lobbyists when in-house capacity existsKen Chan Business Horizons, 2023, vol. 66, issue 2, 215-224 Abstract: To advance their interests by shaping public policies and influencing government decision-making, companies use internal resources, outside lobbyists, or trade associations to lobby. This article examines companies’ use of outside lobbyists even though in-house capacity exists and explores how these resources complement each other. The study aims to offer practical advice to companies and lobbying consultancies regarding the optimal use of internal and external government relations resources. Another aim of the study is to examine how companies monitor the lobbying efforts of the consultancies they hire. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 35 in-house government relations managers and executives to accomplish these goals. The research showed that companies engage with outside lobbyists for two leading reasons: to help with specific issues that have no internal expertise and to provide surge capacity. The interviews identified six ways companies use outside lobbyists: they provide (1) strategic advice, (2) external validation, (3) political intelligence, (4) contact plans, (5) logistical support, and (6) assistance with tough conversations. Keywords: Business consulting; Corporate political activity; Lobbying; Business policy (search for similar items in EconPapers) Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:bushor:v:66:y:2023:i:2:p:215-224 DOI: 10.1016/j.bushor.2022.06.004 Access Statistics for this article Business Horizons is currently edited by C. M. Dalton More articles in Business Horizons from Elsevier |
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