ask a smart question, get a smart answer… but only if you ask the right smart folks…this is what happened recently on the socnet listserv, run by the members of insna… a professor asked about political interlocks, that is, the relationships between fortune 500 firms and political parties (e.g. do any have former federal or state political panjandrums on their boards, etc.)…what jumped to mind at first was the infamous “theyrule” site - but problem is, it’s a bit dated…

next up for me was the federal election commission (discussed the fec resource in detail in another article for scip) …but then i was blow away by the collective wisdom of the group, and one member (Balazs Vedres, Assistant Professor, Central European University and fellow at the Santa Fe Institute) consolidated all of the answers he received on and offline and has graciously allowed me to repost the summary here…this is like the information piggybacker’s disquisition for research into this specialized subject…it always seems to come up during every election, or every period of time in which louche executives are being slammed…enjoy (it’s long, you gotta click through for all of it)..

“Here is a simple (?) question that I am really interested in: What proportion of the Fortune 500 firms in the US are connected to politics? Maybe in the sense of having former top political officeholders (both federal and state) on their boards?“

1. References suggested:

Daniel Maman: “The power lies in the structure: economic policy networks in Israel”, British Journal of Sociology, 1997, 48 (2), pp. 267-285

Koji Taira and Teiichi Wada: Business-government relations in modern Japan. in: Mark S Mizruchi and Micheal Schwartz (editors): Intercorporate Relations: The Structural Analysis of Business. Cambridge University Press, 1987.

Mokken, R.J. and F.N. Stokman, 1979. Corporate-Governmental Networks in The Netherlands, Social Networks, 1, 333-358

Stokman, Frans N., Jelle van der Knoop, and Frans W. Wasseur, 1988. Interlocks in the Netherlands: Stability and Careers in the Period 1960?1980, Social Networks, 10, 183-208

Mariano Baena & Narciso Pizarro,(1985), «The Structure of the Spanish Political Elite, 1939-1975», in Gween Moore, (ed.), Research in Politics and Society, JAI Press, Vol:1,149-171

International Networks Archive http://www.princeton.edu/~ina/

2. People with ongoing related projects:

Amir Sasson The Norwegian School of Management

Anthony Paik Assistant Professor Department of Sociology University of Iowa

Frans N. Stokman Professor of Social Science Research Methodology ICS University of Groningen

Mark S. Mizruchi Professor of Sociology and Business Administration University of Michigan

Narciso Pizarro Professor Facultad de ciencias políticas y sociología Universidad Complutense de Madrid

Paulette Lloyd postdoc at Princeton’s International Network Archives

3. References that I found:

Research Note: Interlocking Ties within Business Groups in Israel - A Longitudinal Analysis, 1974-1987 Organization Studies, Spring, 1999 by Daniel Maman

Yes, There is a (Growing) Transnational Business Community: A Study of Global Interlocking Directorates 1983-98. By: Kentor, Jeffrey; Yong Suk Jang. International Sociology, Sep2004, Vol. 19 Issue 3, p355, 14p; DOI: 10. 1177/0268580904045345; (AN 14449896)

Problems in the Study of the Transnational Business Community: A Reply to Kentor and Jang. By: Carroll, William K.; Fennema, Meindert. International Sociology, Sep2004, Vol. 19 Issue 3, p369, 10p; DOI: 10. 1177/0268580904045346; (AN 14449897)

Dynamics in the German system of corporate governance? Empirical findings regarding interlocking directorates. By: Heinze, Thomas. Economy & Society, May2004, Vol. 33 Issue 2, p218, 21p; DOI: 10.1080/0308514040001677139; (AN 13133196

Social influences on corporate political donations in Britain. By: Bond, Matthew. British Journal of Sociology, Mar2004, Vol. 55 Issue 1, p55, 23p, 3 charts; (AN 12920050)

Size, Concentration, and Corporate Networks: Determinants of Business Collective Action. By: Mizruchi, Mark S.; Koenig, Thomas. Social Science Quarterly (University of Texas Press), Jun91, Vol. 72 Issue 2, p299, 15p, 3 charts; (AN 9107221727)

Publication Trends of Interlocking Directorate Studies. By: Kirkpatrick, Keith. American Sociologist, Fall90, Vol. 21 Issue 3, p257, 14p, 1 graph; (AN 9602290717)

INCREASED ENVIRONMENTAL UNCERTAINTY AND CHANGES IN BOARD LINKAGE PATTERNS. By: Lang, James R.; Lockhart, Daniel E.. Academy of Management Journal, Mar90, Vol. 33 Issue 1, p106, 23p, 2 charts, 1 diagram, 3 graphs; (AN 4409224

INDUSTRIAL MARKET AS AN INTERFIRM ORGANIZATION. By: Rao, M. V. Hayagreeva. Journal of Management Studies, Jan90, Vol. 27 Issue 1, p43, 17p; (AN 4554577

INTERLOCKING DIRECTORATES AS AN INTERORGANIZATIONAL STRATEGY: A TEST OF CRITICAL ASSUMPTIONS. By: Zajac, Edward J.. Academy of Management Journal, Jun88, Vol. 31 Issue 2, p428, 11p; (AN 4408596)

INTERLOCKING DIRECTORATES AND COMMUNITIES OF INTEREST AMONG AMERICAN RAILROAD COMPANIES, 1905. By: Roy, William G.; Bonacich, Philip. American Sociological Review, Jun88, Vol. 53 Issue 3, p368, 12p; (AN 14800183)

A Longitudinal Study of the Formation of Interlocking Directorates. By: Mizruchi, Mark S.; Stearns, Linda Brewster. Administrative Science Quarterly, Jun88, Vol. 33 Issue 2, p194, 17p; (AN 4013998)

Interlocking Directorates in Large American Corporations, 1896-1964. By: Bunting, David; Barbour, Jeffrey. Business History Review, Autumn71, Vol. 45 Issue 3, p317, 19p, 14 charts; (AN 5085940)

THE MODERN CORPORATE ECONOMY: INTERLOCKING DIRECTORSHIPS IN BRITAIN, 1906-1970. By: Stanworth, Philip; Giddens, Anthony. Sociological Review, Feb75, Vol. 23 Issue 1, p5, 24p, 7 charts, 3 diagrams, 1 graph; DOI:
10. 1111/1467-954X.ep5529436; (AN 5529436)

Trends in Interlocking Directorships: An International Comparison. By: Hughes, Michael; Scott, John; Mackenzie, John. Acta Sociologica (Taylor & Francis Ltd), 1977, Vol. 20 Issue 3, p287, 6p, 2 charts; (AN 6241294)

Interlocking Corporate Directorships as a Social Network. By: Koenig, Thomas; Gogel, Robert. American Journal of Economics & Sociology, Jan81, Vol. 40 Issue 1, p37, 14p; (AN 4671150)

Cooptive Corporate Actor Networks: A Reconsideration of Interlocking Directorates Involving American Manufacturing. By: Burt, Ronald S.. Administrative Science Quarterly, Dec80, Vol. 25 Issue 4, p557, 26p; (AN 4014437

THE UNFOLDING OF THE INTERLOCKING DIRECTORATE STRUCTURE OF THE UNITED STATES. By: Roy, William G.. American Sociological Review, Apr83, Vol. 48 Issue 2, p248, 10p; (AN 14846941)

The Transfer of Control in Large Corporations: 1905-1919. By: Bunting, David; Mizruchi, Mark S.. Journal of Economic Issues, Dec82, Vol. 16 Issue 4, p985, 19p, 7 charts; (AN 4673667)

A DYNAMIC STUDY OF CHANGE IN A REGIONAL CORPORATE NETWORK. By: Galaskiewicz, Joseph; Wasserman, Stanley. American Sociological Review, Aug81, Vol. 46 Issue 4, p475, 10p; (AN 14753642)

An Institutional Perspective on Corporate Control and the Network of Interlocking Directorates. By: Caswell, Julie A.. Journal of Economic Issues, Jun84, Vol. 18 Issue 2, p619, 8p; (AN 4679108)

A Limited Rationality Model of Interlocking Directorates. By: Bazerman, Max H. ; Schoorman, F. David. Academy of Management Review, Apr83, Vol. 8 Issue 2, p206, 12p; (AN 4284723)

Size, Concentration, and Corporate Networks: Determinants of Business Collective Action. By: Mizruchi, Mark S.; Koenig, Thomas. Social Science Quarterly (University of Texas Press), Jun91, Vol. 72 Issue 2, p299, 15p, 3 charts; (AN 9107221727)

Peter J. Freitag: The Cabinet and Bug Business: A Study of Interlocks. Social Problems Vol 23 No 2
- - -

…and then an interesting (belated) follow-up from another member (valdis)

You may also find this to be of interest… data gathered by crawling the WWW and looking at ’site interlocks’ between both political and other issue sites. — http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item/default.asp?tid=10329&ttype=2

Various articles by author, Richard Rogers [cc'ed above]. – http://www.govcom.org/full_list.html

My guess is that Richard’s issue crawler could answer the F500 question below… if the data is public. — http://www.govcom.org/scenarios_use.html

………

…says a lot about getting insight directly from the experts (in this case, the world’s leading academics and researchers involved with social network analysis)…

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