A key aspect of the public policy development process in the United States is marketing-laden competition among interest groups aiming to influence policy in their respective favors. Lobbying, the principal means by which this competition transpires, has vast potential to significantly affect marketplace law and practice—including marketers and consumers—in a widespread way. The purpose of this essay is to stimulate scholarly discussion on lobbying and its role in the public policy development process. Toward this end, the authors (1) discuss the nature of lobbying practice in the United States, (2) consider regulatory control and protection of lobbying activity, (3) formulate a theoretical framework from within which to understand lobbying from a public policy and marketing perspective, and (4) provide suggestions for the direction of further research.
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