Cambridge University Press Series on Business and Pubic Policy
is pleased to announce the publication of:
PUBLIC FORCES AND PRIVATE POLITICS IN AMERICAN BIG BUSINESS
by
Professor Timothy Werner
McCombs School of Business
University of Texas, Austin
Book Description:
What are the political motivations behind firms' decisions to adopt policies
that self-regulate their behavior in a manner that is beyond compliance with
state, federal and local law? Public Forces and Private Politics in American
Big Business advances a new understanding of the firm as a political actor that
expands beyond the limited conceptualizations offered by economists and
organization theorists. Timothy Werner develops a general theory of private
politics that is tested using three case studies: the environment, gay rights
and executive compensation. Using the conclusions of these case studies and an
analysis of interviews with executives at 'Fortune 500' firms, Werner finds
that politics can contribute significantly to our understanding of corporate
decision-making on private policies and corporate social responsibility in the
United States.
Advance praise:
'How is it that big business in the US has become both more powerful over
government and more vulnerable to activist pressure? In addressing this puzzle,
Timothy Werner has pulled off a major feat: he has woven together an analysis
of 'private politics', public policy agendas, and the theory of the firm that
is accessible, nuanced, and wide-ranging in its implications.'
--- Tim Bartley, Indiana University
'Had Winston Churchill been an economist, he might have said, 'Capitalism is
the worst form of economic organization, except for all those other forms that
have been tried from time to time'. In [this book] Tim Werner goes beyond the
'which?' when it comes to government or market, and directs the reader towards
'how?' … Werner argues that business groups are partly strategic, but business
political action is also partly just defense. Interestingly, it turns out that
business has today has more leverage over the formal state, but is less
powerful in the larger civil society … Werner slays a few sacred cows, on both
the left and the right. This is the sort of book America needs if we are going
to redirect politics away from partisan bickering and toward solutions.'
--- Michael C. Munger, Director of the Philosophy, Politics, and Economics
Program, Duke University
For additional information:
http://www.cambridge.org/si/knowledge/isbn/item6796473/Public%20Forces%20and%20Private%20Politics%20in%20American%20Big%20Business/?site_locale=sl_SI
**********************************************************************
Aseem Prakash
General Editor, Cambridge University Press Series on Business and Public Policy
Professor, Department of Political Science
Walker Family Professor for the College of Arts and Sciences
39 Gowen Hall, Box 353530
University of Washington
Seattle, WA 98195-3530
aseem@uw.edu
http://faculty.washington.edu/aseem/