Politics and the Corporation, Volume 14 (Research in Political Sociology)

This volume focuses on the ways in which corporations exercise political power, and how changes in the political-legal arrangements in which corporations are embedded affect their organizational behavior. Drawing from a range of theoretical perspectives, the articles in this collection further our understanding of political capitalism, the utilization of political outlets to attain conditions of stability, predictability, and security in the economy and to preserve the social relations in capitalist society. Corporations exercise political and economic power to establish public policies that facilitate rationalization of the economy: creating the political, economic and ideological conditions that are intended to advance their capital accumulation agendas. By examining the historical and dialectical relationship between the corporation and the state, the authors identify conditions within which capitalists mobilize politically to define and redefine the institutional arrangement in which they are embedded. However, the capitalist class and corporate management do not always have a coherent conception of the relationships between their economic goals and the means necessary to achieve those goals. Thus, in addition to the intended consequences of corporate political mobilization, these articles show that rationalization is a historical process that is characterized by contradictions and unintended consequences. Cover......Page 1 Politics and the Corporation......Page 4 Contents......Page 6 List of Contributors......Page 8 Editorial Board......Page 10 Special Reviewers......Page 12 Preface......Page 14 Introduction: Politics and the Corporation......Page 16 Corporate Politics and Social Policy......Page 17 Corporate Politics and Business Policy......Page 19 Corporate Politics and Labor Policies......Page 22 Conclusion......Page 24 References......Page 25 Privatization and Low-Income Housing in the United States Since 1986......Page 30 Introduction......Page 31 Data and Methods......Page 34 Theoretical Issues......Page 35 The Case: The Transformation of Low-Income Housing Development......Page 36 A Political History of the Lihtc......Page 41 Background Conditions and Institutions......Page 42 The Emergence of the LIHTC......Page 44 Interest Groups......Page 47 Selectivity and the LIHTC......Page 52 Discussion......Page 55 Conclusions......Page 59 Notes......Page 60 Acknowledgments......Page 63 References......Page 64 No Room for Compromise: Business Interests and the Politics of Health care Reform......Page 66 Introduction......Page 67 Business, Politics, and Health Policy in an Era of Retrenchment......Page 70 Intra-Class Conflicts and Political Realignment in the Health Care Field......Page 72 Intra-Class Conflicts of Interest......Page 74 Early Corporate Activism: The Washington Business Group on Health......Page 76 The National Leadership Coalition for Health Care Reform......Page 77 The Chamber of Commerce and Health Care Reform......Page 78 Organizing Resistance: The NFIB and the Formation of HEAL......Page 79 The Jackson Hole Group and the Emergence of ‘‘Managed Competition’’......Page 80 Conservative Democrats and ‘‘Managed Competition’’......Page 82 The Clinton Campaign: A ‘‘New Democrat’’ Middle-Way......Page 83 The Politics of Policy Formation in 1993......Page 84 Unveiling the Clinton Plan......Page 86 Initial Reaction to the Clinton Plan by Major Business Organizations......Page 87 The HIAA Offensive......Page 90 The Role of the NFIB......Page 91 Congressional Reaction to the Clinton Plan......Page 92 Reversal of the Chamber of Commerce......Page 94 Rejection by the Business Roundtable......Page 96 Not Health Costs, but ‘‘Big Government,’’ as the Enemy......Page 98 The Demise of Health Care Reform: February to September 1994......Page 99 ‘‘Grassroots’’ Pressure and Political Stalemate: The Energy and Commerce Committee......Page 100 Conservative Democrats and the Senate Finance Committee......Page 101 Business Unity and the End of the Reform Effort......Page 102 Corporate Ambivalence over Health Care Reform......Page 104 A ‘‘Market’’ Solution? The Ideological Role of ‘‘Managed Competition’’......Page 106 The ‘‘Reconstruction’’ of Business Interests, 1993–1994......Page 108 Conclusion: The Return of ‘‘Business Unity’’......Page 109 Notes......Page 111 References......Page 116 Public Airwaves, Private Interests: Competing Visions and Ideological Capture in the Regulation of U.S. Broadcasting, 1920–1934......Page 124 Introduction......Page 125 Broadcasting's Formative Years......Page 127 Chaos, Confusion, and the Need for Regulation......Page 128 The Materialist Approach......Page 130 The Cultural Approach......Page 132 Ideological Capture......Page 133 Commercial Broadcasters......Page 137 Non-Profit Broadcasters......Page 138 The National Radio Conferences......Page 142 The Government's View of Broadcasting......Page 147 Commercial Broadcasters and the Public Interest......Page 149 The FRC and the Fate of Radio Broadcasting......Page 153 Discussion and Conclusion......Page 156 Notes......Page 158 References......Page 159 Introduction......Page 164 Current Knowledge......Page 166 Theory......Page 167 Institutional Arrangements Established during the New Deal......Page 169 Economic Competition and the 1980s......Page 170 Banks’ Political Response to Crisis......Page 171 Changes in Bank Behavior......Page 175 Explanatory Variables......Page 177 Control Variables......Page 178 Methodology......Page 179 Acquired Banks......Page 181 Acquiring Banks......Page 185 Discussion......Page 186 Notes......Page 187 References......Page 189 Correlation Matrix of Independent Variables......Page 193 Making Change in Female Supermarket Managerial Representation: Examining the Role of Legal, Institutional, and Political Environments......Page 196 External Regulatory Environment and Change Processes......Page 198 The Litigation Factor......Page 201 Political and Normative Environments......Page 203 Supermarkets and Internal Structuring......Page 204 Hypotheses......Page 206 Data, Models, and Measures......Page 207 Model Specification......Page 208 Legal Pressure......Page 209 Local Normative Environment......Page 210 Control Variables......Page 211 Results......Page 212 Findings......Page 216 Conclusion......Page 218 Notes......Page 220 References......Page 222 Corporate Accountability and the Privatization of Labor Standards: Struggles over Codes of Conduct in the Apparel Industry......Page 226 Introduction......Page 227 Corporate Responsibility and the Rise of Private Regulation: Context and Theoretical Perspectives......Page 228 Methods and Data......Page 231 The Rise of Codes of Conduct: Shields Against Political Pressures......Page 233 Voluntary Codes as Responses to Globalization......Page 235 Codes as a Business Response to Government Intervention......Page 237 Codes as Reputation Protection......Page 238 Shifting Discourse: From Legal Compliance to ‘‘Code Compliance’’......Page 239 The Politics of Joint Liability: Self-Policing as a Shield......Page 241 UNITE's Guess Campaign......Page 243 The Saipan Case......Page 244 Findings......Page 247 Conclusion: Toward an Alternative Approach......Page 248 Notes......Page 251 References......Page 253 About The Authors......Page 260 This Volume Focuses On The Ways In Which Corporations Exercise Political Power, And How Changes In The Political-legal Arrangments In Which Corporations Are Embedded Affect Their Organizational Behavior. Drawing From A Range Of Theoretical Perspectives, The Articles In This Collection Further Our Understanding Of Political Capitalism, The Utilization Of Political Outlets To Attain Conditions Of Stability, Predictability, And Security In The Economy And To Preserve The Social Relations In Capitalist Society.--jacket. Introduction: Politics And The Corporation / Harland Prechel -- Privatization And Low-income Housing The United States Since 1986 / Doug Guthrie And Michael Mcquarrie -- No Room For Compromise: Business Interests And The Politics Of Health Care Reform / Patrick Akard -- Public Airwaves, Private Interests: Competing Visions And Ideological Capture In The Regulation Of U.s. Broadcasting, 1920-1934 / Stephen Lippmann -- Banks In Crisis: Public Policy And Bank Mergers, 1976-1998 / Theresa Morris -- Making Change In Female Supermarket Managerial Representation: Examining The Role Of Legal, Institutional, And Political Environments / Sheryl Skaggs -- Corporate Accountability And The Privatization Of Labor Standards: Struggles Over Codes Of Conduct In The Apparel Industry / Tim Bartley. Edited By Harland Prechel. Includes Bibliographical References. Focuses on the ways in which corporations exercise political power, and how changes in the political-legal arrangements in which corporations are embedded affect their organizational behavior. This volume examines the historical and dialectical relationship between the corporation and the state