Interest groups in the European Union and their hiring of political consultancies

Interest groups do not only attempt to influence European legislation by devising and executing their own strategies, or relying on their allies. Almost 50% have also experience in hiring political consultants. Using novel survey data from the policy formulation stage, this study shows that business...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:European Union politics 2020-06, Vol.21 (2), p.333-354
Main Author: Huwyler, Oliver
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Business
Consultants
European cultural groups
Interest groups
Legislation
Lobbying
Membership
Policy making
Political behavior
Political consultants
Trade associations
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Summary:Interest groups do not only attempt to influence European legislation by devising and executing their own strategies, or relying on their allies. Almost 50% have also experience in hiring political consultants. Using novel survey data from the policy formulation stage, this study shows that business interest groups are more likely to hire consultancies than non-business interest groups. It suggests that business associations’ higher likelihood of hiring consultancies is linked to membership promotion. For firms, it likely relates to their need for specialised lobbying tools and trust-building measures when seeking private goods from policy-makers. Furthermore, the results indicate that consultancy hiring by business interest groups becomes less likely the more they focus on lobbying. This moderation effect highlights that business interest groups show awareness of principal–agent problems and take mitigating action.
ISSN:1465-1165
1741-2757
DOI:10.1177/1465116519897820