Public Forces and Private Politics in American Big Business

Timothy Werner

Jun 2012 · Cambridge University Press

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What are the political motivations behind firms' decisions to adopt policies that self-regulate their behavior in a manner that is beyond compliance with state, federal and local law? Public Forces and Private Politics in American Big Business advances a new understanding of the firm as a political actor that expands beyond the limited conceptualizations offered by economists and organization theorists. Timothy Werner develops a general theory of private politics that is tested using three case studies: the environment, gay rights and executive compensation. Using the conclusions of these case studies and an analysis of interviews with executives at 'Fortune 500' firms, Werner finds that politics can contribute significantly to our understanding of corporate decision-making on private policies and corporate social responsibility in the United States.

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Timothy Werner is an Associate Professor of Business, Government and Society at McCombs School of Business, University of Texas, Austin. He previously worked as a legislative and regulatory analyst for a major energy firm, which inspired him to place the investigation of corporations' private political decision-making at the heart of his research. He was presented with the Emerging Scholars Award by the American Political Science Association (APSA) in September 2013.