Power, Policy and Profit investigates the many ways in which corporate actors attempt to influence political activities. Through the intensified globalization of markets, the restructuring of welfare services and the accumulation of private capital, opportunities for corporate influence in politics affairs are shown to have multiplied. Bringing together different fields of global governance studies, this book addresses the rising political influence of corporate actors both nationally and internationally. Corporate influence on policy is now commonplace through lobbying, advocacy and campaign contributions; funding analysis and research; creating or adopting standards for social responsibility and shaping transparency guidelines. Key chapters show how corporations can now have leverage in broad political affairs: an activity central to the organization of markets. Power, Policy and Profit will be of great interest to students and academics of business and management, politics and governance studies. Policy professionals will find this a timely read on the complexities of corporate engagement in politics and governance. Contributors include: F. Aggeri, E. Boxenbaum, J.-Y. Caneill, M. Cartel, M.L. Djelic, H. Dumez, M. Flyverbom, C. Garsten, A. Jeunemaitre, A. Nyqvist, M. Perezts, X. Philippe, S. Picard, B. Rothstein, A. Soerbom, V. Steyer, R. Thedvall, A. Tyllstroem, D.A. Westbrook

In Discreet Power, Christina Garsten and Adrienne Soerbom undertake an ethnographic study of the World Economic Forum (WEF). Accessing one of the primary agenda-setting organizations of our day, they draw on interviews and participant observation to examine how the WEF wields its influence. They situate the WEF within an emerging system of "discretionary governance," in which actors craft ideas and entice formal authorities and top leaders in order to garner significant sway. Yet in spite of its image as a powerful, exclusive brain trust, the WEF has no formal mandate to implement its positions. It must convince others to advance chosen causes and enact suggestions, rendering its position quite fragile. Garsten and Soerbom argue that the WEF must be viewed relationally as a brokering organization that lives between the market and political spheres and that extends its reach through associated individuals and groups.They place the WEF in the context of a broader shift, arguing that while this type of governance opens up novel ways of dealing with urgent global problems, it challenges core democratic values.