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

Author

Listed:
  • Madina Rival

    (National Conservatory of Arts and Crafts)

  • Richard Major

    (Institut de Gestion Sociale
    IAE Graduate School of Management, Aix-Marseille University
    Exemplarity Management Consulting and Research)

Abstract

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.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:150:y:2018:i:1:d:10.1007_s10551-016-3141-7
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-016-3141-7
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Chan, Ken, 2023. "Outsourcing government relations: Use of outside lobbyists when in-house capacity exists," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 66(2), pages 215-224.
    2. Elisa Salvador & Hassan El Asraoui & Mylene Akbaraly, 2019. "The difficult relationship between the consultancy market and SMEs: inspiring insights from the case of Drôme," Post-Print hal-02513526, HAL.
    3. Anne Vijver, 2022. "Morality of Lobbying for Tax Benefits: A Kantian Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 181(1), pages 57-68, November.

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