Buffer or Bridge? Environmental and Organizational Determinants of Public Affairs Activities in American Firms

Abstract

This article suggests corporate public affairs activities can be broken clown into two types: activities that “buffer” from the social and political environment, and activities that “bridge” with that environment. Drawing on previous work related to contingency theory, resource dependence, and strategic management, we developed hypotheses concerning conditions under which firms will emphasize buffering, bridging, or both. The hypotheses were tested with data collected from large American firms and Lohmoller's partial-least-squares latent variable path analysis. Buffering is found to be positively associated with environmental uncertainty and organizational power. Bridging is positively associated with uncertainty and an institution-oriented philosophy on the part of top management.