The Law and Ethics of K Street: Lobbying, the First Amendment, and the Duty to Create Just Laws

Ostas, Daniel T.

doi:10.5840/beq200717113

Cited by 44 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 4 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Elements within Barker's (2008) ''ethics'' standard are also included: ''dialog,'' ''transparency,'' and ''deontology'' qualify nine of the fifteen LC indicators. These are reminiscent of the notions of transparency, sharing of information, and integrity found in the existing literature (Hamilton and Hoche 1997;Ostas 2007;WTCGU 2002).…”

Section: Would Exemplary Ethics Provide a Framework For Lobbying Consmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…For Hamilton and Hoche (1997), ''business lobbying is a socially responsible activity which needs to be restrained by ethical standards'' (p. 118), and the U.S. legislation on lobbying would be very loose. Moral limits should therefore be set for this activity (Ostas 2007). Specifically, for Barker (2008) the ethical problem arises when a lobbyist can promote a policy that will enrich his client to the detriment of the citizens' greater good.…”

Section: Ethics and Lobbying: Managerial And Societal Stakesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Ostas (2007) directs us to the nine articles of the ethical code of the American League of Lobbyists (ALL) that has been in existence since 1979. 1 The most referenced study on the subject remains Georgetown University's Woodstock Theological Center (GUWTC) research published in 2002.…”

Section: A Normative Framework Of Ethics To Conceive Lobbying?mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

What Lobbying Ethics and What for? The Case of French Lobbying Consulting Firms

Rival

Major

2016

J Bus Ethics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Conversely to the United States, lobbying consulting in France is a relatively recent activity and is perceived negatively by a majority of the population. Influencing public decision-making is certainly a sensitive occupation at both managerial and societal levels. This is why ethics applied to business can play a central role while establishing the practice of lobbying in France. This paper examines the issues and the practices of ethics in lobbying consulting. The field for this exploratory study is a lobbying consultancy firm based in France. Our research is developed through a 3-month participant observation and complemented with secondary data on the lobbying profession in France. The results of this research are developed along two lines: (1) The practice of ethics in lobbying consultancy firms reveals its limits as well as a framework worth developing. The players and the represented client topics are potential dangers for ethical lobbying firms. This intervention research has nevertheless allowed us to observe the emergence of an effective regulation approach: the ethics of exemplarity as potentially illustrated by a representative actor of the French lobbying consulting profession. (2) The stakes of ethics are both internal and external to lobbying consulting professionals in France. Internally, ethics act as a structuring element enabling this profession to establish itself with practices and deontological codes; externally, it clarifies the relationship between lobbying consultants and their major stakeholders including customers, government, and the civil society.

show abstract

Section: Would Exemplary Ethics Provide a Framework For Lobbying Consmentioning

confidence: 93%

Section: Ethics and Lobbying: Managerial And Societal Stakesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

What Lobbying Ethics and What for? The Case of French Lobbying Consulting Firms

Rival

Major

2016

J Bus Ethics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Many professions have agreed-upon standards of ethical conduct. 10 It is not surprising, then, that dyadic trust relationships and the effect(s) of ethical standards have been topics of discussion in the fields of business, law and medicine (Bean, 2001;Burns and Lubet, 2003;Ostas, 2007;Audi, 2008;Erola, 2008). However, ethical codes for lobbying are hardly straightforward, and the literature has been largely silent on the role(s) that ethics play in lobbying.…”

Section: Social Control Solutionsmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…More problematic, not all lobbyists belong to such associations even where they exist. Ostas (2007) has noted that the ALL standards do not carry the force of law; lobbyists' adherence to them depends upon the strength of arguments in favor of their usage. Ultimately, Ostas (2007, p. 42; see also Audi, 2008, p. 98) argues that 'the truthfulness of lobbying activities will have to depend on the lobbyist's desire to preserve his or her reputation for honesty and on personal ethics y rather than on direct legal regulation'.…”

Section: Social Control Solutionsmentioning

confidence: 97%

You don’t know Jack: Principals, agents and lobbying

Lowery

Marchetti

2012

Int Groups Adv

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Executive Summary Most recent work on the politics of interest representation assumes that lobbyists represent their clients' interests with fidelity. As a check on the validity of this assumption, we examine the potential for principal-agent problems to emerge in the relationship between lobbyists and clients. We first consider the nature of agency problems in lobbying, emphasizing problems of outcomes, interests and monitoring. Next, we examine market, hierarchical and social controls of agency problems in lobbying. We then discuss the implications of our analysis for studies of interest organization mobilization, tactics and strategies, and influence. And finally, we argue that renewed attention must be paid to the internal operation of interest organizations, a subject that has been given scant attention in recent research on interest representation.In 2006, lobbyist Jack Abramoff was convicted -along with two White House officials, US Representative Robert Ney, and nine other lobbyists and Congressional aides -of a range of crimes, including mail fraud and conspiracy. The Washington Post summarized one of the core elements of the case against Abramoff as follows:Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff and public relations consultant Michael Scanlon quietly worked with conservative religious activist Ralph Reed to help the state of Texas shut down an Indian tribe's casino in 2002, then the two quickly persuaded the tribe to pay $4.2 million to try to get Congress to reopen it. Dozens of e-mails written by the three men and obtained by The Washington Post show how they built public r

show abstract

The influence of media scrutiny on firms' strategic eschewal of lobbying

Kim,

Welbourne Eleazar,

Lee

2024

Strategic Management Journal

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Research SummaryLobbying allows firms to influence the government to potentially limit firms' costs during product recall crises. However, such lobbying can elicit scrutiny from the media if the lobbying gives the impression that firms wish to save costs at the expense of safety, thereby appearing hypocritical. We theorize that when faced with negative media coverage of product recalls or recall‐related lobbying, firms strategically eschew lobbying to limit further media scrutiny and its associated negative consequences. We test our hypotheses using the US auto industry's lobbying from 2008 to 2022. We provide further depth to our examination of strategic eschewal through 15 supplemental interviews of lobbyists about how the media influences firms' lobbying decisions.Managerial SummaryCompanies may resort to lobbying in efforts to reduce costs related to product recall crises, but such controversial lobbying may also tarnish their image. When confronted with negative media coverage of product recalls, or recall‐related lobbying, companies are more likely to strategically refrain from lobbying to minimize additional, unwanted media spotlight and its associated negative repercussions. Managers should be mindful that even if lobbying may help limit the costs of recalls, it could also cause potential reputational harm. Thus, it is vitally important that managers pay attention to the reputational cues from the media, which can help them determine when lobbying may be problematic and allow them to preemptively refrain from such lobbying.

show abstract

The Law and Ethics of K Street: Lobbying, the First Amendment, and the Duty to Create Just Laws

Cited by 44 publications

References 4 publications

What Lobbying Ethics and What for? The Case of French Lobbying Consulting Firms

What Lobbying Ethics and What for? The Case of French Lobbying Consulting Firms

You don’t know Jack: Principals, agents and lobbying

The influence of media scrutiny on firms' strategic eschewal of lobbying

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About