• DOI:10.1111/J.1430-9134.2004.00023.X
• Corpus ID: 44209882

Astroturf: Interest Group Lobbying and Corporate Strategy

@article{Lyon2004AstroturfIG,
  title={Astroturf: Interest Group Lobbying and Corporate Strategy},
  author={Thomas P. Lyon and John W. Maxwell},
  journal={Wiley-Blackwell: Journal of Economics \& Management Strategy},
  year={2004}
}

• Thomas P. Lyon, J. Maxwell
• Published 2 November 2004
• Economics
• Wiley-Blackwell: Journal of Economics & Management Strategy

We study three corporate nonmarket strategies designed to influence the lobbying behavior of other special interest groups: (1) astroturf, in which the firm covertly subsidizes a group with similiar views to lobby when it normally would not; (2) the bear hug, in which the firm overtly pays a group to alter its lobbying activitives; and (3) self-regulation, in which the firm voluntarily limits the potential social harm from its activities. All three strategies reduce the informativeness of lobbying, and all reduce the payoff of the public decision-maker. We show that the decision-maker would benefit by requiring the public disclosure of funds but that the availability of alternative strategies limits the impact of such a policy.