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Ethical Standards for Business Lobbying: Some Practical Suggestions

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  • Hamilton, J. Brooke
  • Hoch, David

Abstract

Rather than being inherently evil, business lobbying is a socially responsible activity which needs to be restrained by ethical standards. To be effective in a business environment, traditional ethical standards need to be translated into language which business persons can speak comfortably. Economical explanations must also be available to explain why ethical standards are appropriate in business. Eight such standards and their validating arguments are proposed with examples showing their use. Internal dialogues regarding the ethics of lobbying objectives and tactics will plausibly occur only in businesses which recognize social responsibility mandates. Public interest stakeholders could hasten this recognition by making use of information made available by the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 to institute external dialogues regarding lobbying by specific businesses and industry groups . Given practical ethical standards and the information on business lobbying provided by the law, the press, corporate activists, consumers, pension fund managers and the public can apply pressure for ethical lobbying practices.

Suggested Citation

  • Hamilton, J. Brooke & Hoch, David, 1997. "Ethical Standards for Business Lobbying: Some Practical Suggestions," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 7(3), pages 117-129, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:buetqu:v:7:y:1997:i:03:p:117-129_00
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    Cited by:

    1. R. W. Major & Madina Rival, 2012. "From informal practices to formal conduct: Which ethical practices and issues for French lobbying consulting?," Working Papers halshs-00709380, HAL.
    2. J. Brooke Hamilton & Stephen B. Knouse & Vanessa Hill, 2009. "Google in China: A Manager-Friendly Heuristic Model for Resolving Cross-Cultural Ethical Conflicts," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 86(2), pages 143-157, May.
    3. Tahiru Azaaviele Liedong, 2021. "Responsible Firm Behaviour in Political Markets: Judging the Ethicality of Corporate Political Activity in Weak Institutional Environments," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 172(2), pages 325-345, August.
    4. Shirodkar, Vikrant & Batsakis, Georgios & Konara, Palitha & Mohr, Alexander, 2022. "Disentangling the effects of domestic corporate political activity and political connections on firms’ internationalisation: Evidence from US retail MNEs," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(1).
    5. Shirodkar, Vikrant & Liedong, Tahiru Azaaviele & Rajwani, Tazeeb & Lawton, Thomas C., 2024. "MNE nonmarket strategy in a changing world: Complexities, varieties, and a values-based approach," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(2).
    6. Tahiru Azaaviele Liedong, 2022. "The Liability of Tribe in Corporate Political Activity: Ethical Implications for Political Contestability," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 181(3), pages 623-644, December.
    7. Ernesto D’Avanzo & Mariangela Franch & Elio Borgonovi, 2021. "Ethics and Sustainable Management. An Empirical Modelling of Carroll’s Pyramid for the Italian Landscape," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-19, November.
    8. Shane Leong & James Hazelton & Cynthia Townley, 2013. "Managing the Risks of Corporate Political Donations: A Utilitarian Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 118(2), pages 429-445, December.
    9. Muel Kaptein, 2017. "The Battle for Business Ethics: A Struggle Theory," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 144(2), pages 343-361, August.
    10. Anne Sachet-Milliat & Jacques Igalens, 2019. "Le lobbying en France: une approche par le concept de corégulation," Post-Print hal-02872767, HAL.
    11. J. Hamilton & Stephen Knouse & Vanessa Hill, 2009. "Google in China: A Manager-Friendly Heuristic Model for Resolving Cross-Cultural Ethical Conflicts," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 86(2), pages 143-157, May.
    12. Edoardo Mollona & Guglielmo Faldetta, 2022. "Ethics in corporate political action: can lobbying be just?," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 26(4), pages 1245-1276, December.
    13. Madina Rival & Richard Major, 2018. "What Lobbying Ethics and What for? The Case of French Lobbying Consulting Firms," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 150(1), pages 99-116, June.
    14. Bäumlisberger Damian, 2020. "A Rawlsian perspective on the institutional limits of lobbying the European Commission," Journal for Markets and Ethics, Sciendo, vol. 8(1), pages 13-27, June.
    15. Nilufer Yapici & Ratan J. S. Dheer, 2024. "Forgetting Corporate Irresponsibility: The Role of Corporate Political Activities and Stakeholder Characteristics," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 191(1), pages 29-57, April.
    16. Pierre-Yves Néron, 2016. "Rethinking the Ethics of Corporate Political Activities in a Post-Citizens United Era: Political Equality, Corporate Citizenship, and Market Failures," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 136(4), pages 715-728, July.

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