What makes a lobby successful? Understanding the capacity of Spanish business organizations to influence public decisions

Abstract

The research presented in this paper aims to find out which business associations had the greatest capacity of influencing Spanish public issues throughout the first half of 2022 in the autonomous communities of Madrid and Catalonia, and the key contributing factors for their influence on policymakers. The developed methodology concedes to each association a score based on its presence in public committees, number of members and employees, seniority, transparency, and contribution to the economy. A sample of 186 professional associations was extracted from four transparency registers. Transport and digital sectors showed greater capacity of influence than many traditional industries, thanks to their participation in committees, their membership, and their impact on the national economy. Indirect lobbying emerges as a key practice for these organizations, which also benefit from internal structures with specialized working groups and from hiring a director of Public Affairs.