| This research assesses the relative impact on legislative decision making of several prevalent types of corporate political activities: political action committee (PAC) contributions, constituency building, executive lobbying, use of professional lobbyists, and advocacy advertising. Two separate groups of expert informants provided data on both the usage and the effectiveness of these different influence tactics. The results indicate convergent support for constituency-centered models of legislative decision making that are based on public choice theory. Further research is suggested to explore how, when, and why firms implement different mixes of these activities and what determines the effectiveness of the overall political strategies that result. |