"BUSINESS" IS NOT AN INTEREST GROUP: On the Study of Companies in American National Politics

Individual companies are neglected in American politics scholarship, despite their empirical and normative significance. Interest group theory does not provide an adequate framework for understanding them. Neoclassical microeconomic theory has begun to be developed for political analysis, but its assumptions restrict the scope of its utility. Cyert & March's (1992) “behavioral theory of the firm” provides a more promising foundation, one that dovetails with the historical and institutional tradition in political science. Research in this tradition has begun to analyze how the personal preferences of senior managers, institutional structures, cultural norms, and learning over time affect the political positions and strategies of firms.