The “Make or Buy” Decision in Political and Nonmarket Strategy

Abstract

Extant research of firms’ political and nonmarket strategy has paid very limited attention to how firms design and implement these strategies, in particular, whether the firm use internal staff in relevant divisions (“make”) or hire external professionals as contractors (“buy”) to carry out political and nonmarket strategies. This symposium consists of three papers that all aim to explain the “make or buy” decisions made by firms in obtaining political or legal services. These papers draw on existing theories of “make or buy” decisions that have been developed in studying economic transactions, to shed new light-both theoretical and empirical-on how this decision plays out in nonmarket contexts. How Do Plural-Sourcing Firms Make and Buy? The Impact of Supplier Portfolio Design Presenter: Mari Sako; U. of Oxford Presenter: George Chondrakis; Pompeu Fabra U. Presenter: Paul M Vaaler; U. of Minnesota Make-or-Buy Decisions in Corporate Political Strategy Presenter: Nan Jia; U. of Southern California Lobbying Strategy: The Choice between Insourcing and Outsourcing Activities Presenter: Leonard Bierman; Texas A&M U. Presenter: Scott Kuban; Texas A&M U., College Station Presenter: Michael Seth Nalick; Texas A&M U. Presenter: Mario Schijven; U. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Presenter: Asghar Zardkoohi; Texas A&M U.