It is inevitable that corporations will play politics. Critics contend that corporate political activity, most especially campaign contributions, corrupts the political process and enables corporations to obtain legislation granting them rents at societal expense. In response, defenders of corporate political involvement argue that the ever-increasing burden of regulation requires corporations to include lobbying regulators and legislators as part of their overall business strategy. hence, it is to be expected that corporations will seek to manage politics in much the same way as they manage other business ventures. Jill Fisch makes an important contribution to this literature with a case study "examining the political involvement of one company, FedEx, in a series of regulatory reforms over a forty year period."
Drawing upon the business context, the legislative record, campaign finance materials and interest group analysis, the Article demonstrates that political activity has been an integral component of FedEx's business growth and operations. FedEx has successfully used its political influence to shape legislation, and FedEx's political success has, in turn, shaped its overall business strategy. Moreover, in identifying the specific components of FedEx's political activity, the Article highlights the range of mechanisms that corporations use to engage in politics, revealing that the exercise of political influence is far more complex than the purchase of political favors in a spot market.
Regulation is becoming an increasingly important factor for United States businesses. As a result, corporations must integrate political activity into their overall business strategy and must develop and manage their political capital in the same way that they manage other business assets. The FedEx story demonstrates the importance of politics to business and explains the growing investment by corporations in political capital. It further explains how the business world has responded, and will continue to respond, to regulatory restrictions by developing alternative mechanisms for exerting political influence.
