When procedures and ideology replace strategy in corporate political activity: Industry associations in Interwar Finland

Abstract

The core assumption in the management literature on corporate political activity (CPA) is that firms and industry associations representing their interests seek political ends driven by strategic concerns. Other streams of research, however, emphasise the role of ideology in CPA. In this article, we study the balance between strategic and ideological orientations over time. We draw on historical data from the early 1920s to the end of the 1930s to analyse a process in which two competing Finnish industry associations sought to balance strategic and ideological CPA, and how procedural CPA became increasingly important as a mechanism for increasing the emphasis on ideological goals. As industry associations become more autonomous, they gain more opportunities and greater power. As a result of this increased power, associations can promote their own ideological agendas, which often contrast with what would be directly beneficial for individual firms and societies.