Small and Medium-sized Firms' First Interaction with Government: An Exploratory Study

Authors

  • Ronald G. Cook Rider University

Abstract

It is well known that, by either incentives or constraints, government has a substantial impact on business (Marcus. Kaufman. & Beam. 1987; Buchholtz. 1988; Scarborough & Zimmerer, 1993; Preston, 1990; Epstein, 1980). Over time, this impact has increased to where the political success of firm is considered by some to be vital to marketplace success (Marcus et al., 1987). As a result, firms often found that they needed to become involved in the public policy process if they were to gain influence with policymakers. As Irving Shapiro, former CEO of Dupont and former chairman of the Business Roundtable, put it, "..you have zero chance of scoring points unless you get into the game" (1980,p. 30). Historically, large firms were the first to get 'into the game,' often by investing in a Washington office, hiring one or more representatives to monitor issue areas of primary concern, and engaging a law or public relations firm to pursue company interests with relevant bureaucrats (Levitan & Cooper, 1984).

References

Bigelow, B., Fahey, L., & Mahon, J. (1991). Political strategy and issues evolution: A framework for analysis and action. I n Contemporary issues in business ethics and politics (pp. 1-26). NY: Edwin Mellen Press.

Brock, W. A., & Evans, D. S. ( 1 986). The economics of small business. NY: Holmes & Meier. Buchholz, R. A. (1988). Public policy issues for management. NJ: Prentice Hal l.

Chrisman,J. J., & Archer, R. W. ( 1984). Small business responsibility: Some perceptions and insights. American Journal of Small Business, 9(2), 46-58.

Cook, R. G., & Barry, D. (1993). When should the small firm become involved in public pol icy. Journal of Small Business Management, 31(1), 39-50.

Cook, R. G., & Barry, D. ( 1 995). Shaping the external environment: A study of small firms' attempts to influence public pol icy. Business & Society, 34( 3), 31 7-344.

Dennis, W. J., Jr. (1993). A small business primer. Washington, DC: NFIB Foundation.

Epstein, E. M. (1980). Business political activity: Research approaches and analytical issues. In L. Preston (Ed.), Research in corporate social performances and policy 2 (pp. 1-56). Greenwich, CT: JAi.

Executive Office of the President. ( 1994). The state of small business: A report of the president. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office.

Fowler, F. J. (1988). Survey research methods. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications. Gaedeke, R. M., & Tootel ion, D. H. (1991). Small business management (3rd ed.). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

Gatewood, E. ( I 993). The expectancies in public sector venture assistance. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, / 7(2), 91-96.

Glaser, B. G., & Strauss, A. L. ( 1967). The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research. Chicago: Aldine.

Gomolka, E.G. (1978). The social responsibility of minority-ownedsmall business companies. American Journal of Small Business, 2, 1-12.

Hemmasi, M., Graf, L., Strong, K., & Winchell, M. (1994). Strategic impl ications of current small business waste red uction programs.Journal of Small Business Strategy. 5(1), 45-55. Hodgetts, R. M., & Kuratko, D. F. ( 1995). Effective small business managemett (5th ed.). Fort Worth, TX: Dryden Press.

Judge, G. G., Griffiths, W. E., Hill, R. C., Lutkepol, H., & Lee, T. (1985). The theory and practice of econometrics (2nd. Ed.). New York: John Wiley and sons.

Kelley, P. C. (1991). Factors that i nfl uence the development of trade associations' political behaviors. In J. Post (Ed.), Research in corporate social performance and policy 12 (pp. 93-142). Greenwich, CT: JAi Press.

Knoke, D. ( 1990). Organizationfor collective action: Thepolitical economies of associations. New York: Aldine de Gruyter.

Lad, J. L. (1991). Industry self-regu lation as interfirm and multisector collaboration: The case of the direct selling ind ustry. I n J. Post (Ed.), Research in corporate social performance and policy 12 (pp. 155-178). Greenwich, CT: JAi Press.

Levitan,S. A., & Cooper, M. (1984). Business lobbies: The public good and the bottom line. Balti more, MD: John Hopki ns University Press.

Longenecker, J. G., Moore, C. W., & Petty, J. W. (1994). Small business management: An entrepreneurial emphasis (9th ed.). Ci ncinnati, OH: South-Western.

Marcus, A. A., Kaufman, A. M., & Beam, D. R. ( 1987). The pursu it of corporate advantage and the q uest for social legiti macy. In Business strategy and public policy (pp. 1-18). CT: Quorum Books.

Megginson, W. L., Byrd, M. J., Scott, C. R., & Megginson, L. C. (1994). Small business management: An entrepreneur's guide to success. Burr Ridge, IL: Irwin.

Miles, M. B., & Huberman, A. M. ( 1994). Qualitatiw data analysis (2nd ed.). Newbury Park, CA: SAGE Publications.

Mitnick, B. M. ( 1 980). The political economy of regulation. New York: Columbia University Press.

Olson, M. ( 1 965). The logic of collective action. Boston: Harvard University Press.

Patton, M. Q. (1990). Qualitative evaluation and research methods (2nd ed.). Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.

Post, J. E. ( 1 978). Corporate behavior and social change. Reston, VA: Reston Publ ishing.

Preston, L. E. ( 1990). Editor's introd uction. In L. Preston (Ed.), Government regulation and business response: Research issues and empirical studies (pp. xi-xii). Greenwich, CT: JAi Press.

R ussell, C. S. (1990). Monitoring and enforcement. I n P. Portney (Ed.), Public policies /or environmental protection (pp. 21 6-274). Washington, DC: Resources for the Future.

Scarborough, N. M., & Zi mmerer, T. W. (1993). Effective small business management. New York: MacMillan Publishing.

Samuelson, P. (1954). The pure theory of public expenditure. Review of Economics and Statistics, 36, 387-390.

Seidman, L. H., & Aal berts, R. J. ( 1993). Managing the risk of wrongful discharge l itigation: The small firm and the model employment termination act. Journal of Small Business Management, 31(4), 75-79.

Shapi ro, I. S. (1980). Business and the public policy process. I n J. Dunlap (Ed.), Business and Public Policy (pp. 23-33). Boston, MA: Harvard Business School.

Strauss, A. L. (1987). Qualitative analysis for social scientists. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Thompson, J. K., Warlick, S. L., & Smith, H. L. (1991 ). Integrat i ng corporate social performance and stakeholder management: Implications for a research agenda in small business. I n J. Post (Ed.), Research in corporate social performance and policy 12 (pp. 207-230). Greenwich, CT: JAi Press.

Ullman, A. (1985). The impact of the regulatory l ife cycle on corporate pol itical strategy. California Management Review. 28, 140-54.

Weidenbaum , M. L. (1979). The ji11ure of business regulation: Private action and public demand. New York: AMACOM.

Wood, D. J. ( 1986). Strategic uses of public policy. MA: Pitman Publishing.

Downloads

Published

1996-06-11

Issue

Vol. 7 No. 2 (1996)

Section

Articles

License

The Journal of Small Business Strategy (the “Publisher”) and the Author(s) agree as follows:
 
1.Author(s) hereby grant to Publisher all right, title, and interest in and to the Work, including copyright to all means of expression by any method now known or hereafter developed, including electronic format. If Publisher does not publish the Work within two (2) years of the Effective Date, copyright shall revert back to the Author. Publisher agrees to always credit Author(s) as the author(s) of the Work.
 
2.Publisher hereby grants Author a royalty-free, limited license for the following purposes, provided the Work is always identified as having first been published by Publisher.
    •The right to make and distribute copies of all or part of the Work for use in teaching;
    •The right to use all or part of the material contained in the Work in a book by the Author(s), or in a collection of the Author(s)’s work;
    •The right to use and distribute the Work internally at the Author(s)’s place of employment, and for promotion and any other non-commercial purposes;
    •The right to use figures and tables from the Work for any purpose;
    •The right to make presentations of material from the Work;
    •The right to use and distribute the Work on the Author(s)’s Web site and on the Author(s)’s university’s institute repository;
Such license shall be effective when the Work is first published in the Journal of Small Business Strategy.
 
3.The Author(s) represents and warrants that the Work: (a) is the Author(s)’s original work and that Author(s) has full power to enter into this agreement; (b) does not infringe the copyright or property right of another; (c) contains no materials which is obscene, libelous, defamatory or violates another’s civil right, right of privacy, or is otherwise unlawful; and (d) has not been previously published, in whole or in part. Author(s) shall indemnify and hold Publisher harmless against loss or expenses arising from breach of any such warranties.

How to Cite

Small and Medium-sized Firms’ First Interaction with Government: An Exploratory Study. (1996). Journal of Small Business Strategy (archive Only), 7(2), 17-28. https://libjournals.mtsu.edu/index.php/jsbs/article/view/339