Abstract

"In Search for Power: Analyzing Business Groups’ Interest Formulation, Political Activity, and Influence"

Susanna Fellman, Gothenburg University (susanna.fellman@econhist.gu.se)

Business history scholars pay growing attention to business interest associations’ political activity, and to their influence and power in political decision-making. The research field is not new – in the US and in Europe, the role of lobby groups in the political system is both an established and a well-documented phenomenon which is quite well researched – but the topic has come back on the agenda recently. This is to a large extent a result of the current political and economic landscape. However, scholars commonly struggle with obstacles in studying these phenomena empirically. These challenges include how to identify the platforms for, and the channels of, influence and how to gain insight into how policy preferences emerge, not to mention the difficulties in measuring the degree of influence.
Discussions and evaluations of business power are in fact often avoided precisely because power is also a slippery concept, which is especially difficult to handle empirically. As stated by Neil Rollings (2021), business historians acknowledge business power, but still often leave it “lurking in the background”. On the upside, the interest in this field has led to the adoption of new approaches and efforts to solve the problems with new types of material. Fruitful cross-fertilization between various scholarly fields occurs, providing opportunities for new insights and advancement in the field. However, much remains to be done.
This paper aims to add to this field. Firstly, we will a) present an overview of recent contributions concerning business interest, business political activity and business interest associations’ influence in the business history field; b) outline and discuss the advantages and limitations of one empirical approach to investigate the changing policy preferences and political strategies of the business community; and c) highlight the value added that empirical historical research can bring to theoretical discussions on business power.