Interest Group Influence on Managerial Priorities in Public Organizations
Author(s)
Nicholson-Crotty, Sean; Nicholson-Crotty, Jill
Abstract
The recognition that public bureaucracies are political entities that make important policy choices, as well as depend on political support for their legitimacy, has spawned a large body of research on the interaction between these organizations and interest groups. Despite the long-standing interest among scholars regarding interest group influence in public administration, however, there are surprisingly few empirical studies that test for the degree of such influence in large-sample analyses of multiple public organizations. Additionally, there are few studies that ask not only “Do interest groups have influence over public managerial decision making?” but also “Under what conditions should we expect interest group influence to be greater or lesser?” The highly inconsistent findings regarding group influence over legislative decision making suggest that this second question is probably more appropriate. In order to address these issues, this essay will test for interest group influence on the decisions of over 500 public managers.
