LOBBYING AND PUBLIC-RELATIONS IN A EUROPEAN CONTEXT

Structural changes in Western European politics increases the importan ce of lobbying. The ''political deficit'' of the European Union has cr eated an exploding lobbying market which is mirrored in the increased importance of lobbying at the national state level in Europe. This stu dy looks at the role of corporate PR managers in corporate lobbying in one European country, Norway, and looks at connections between experi ence at the national level and the European level. The study confirms a hypothesis that company lobbying is run by company CEOs, with the PR manager playing a crucial role. A structural change in the way lobbyi ng is organized seems to be that single companies to an increasing ext ent build their own lobbying networks, independent of trade associatio ns. They sometimes use MPs to get access, but do not use external lobb ying consultants extensively. According to this study, there is an inc reasing tendency to attempt to influence members of parliament, not on ly civil servants. Magne Haug is Assistant Professor of PR at the Norw egian School of Management, School of Marketing. Haavard Koppang is As sociate Professor of Economics and Management at the Norwegian School of Management, School of Marketing.