A STRATEGIC ANALYSIS OF 'FORTUNE 500' POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEES (PAC)

The electoral behavior of the Fortune 500 corporate political action committees (PACs) during the 1979/1980 election cycle was the focus of this dissertation. The 1980 general election was the first Presidential election in which PACs played an active monetary role. The primary objective was to determine to what extent corporations had strategically managed their PACs by analyzing their contribution decisions and the factors that influenced those decisions. A secondary objective was to more realistically evaluate the impact of corporate PAC monies on the electoral process and, in so doing, to gain new insight into the continuing question as to whether PAC monies constitute a danger to representative democracy.;The campaign contribution strategies of the Fortune 500 industrial corporations were studied using two strategic management models, newly developed for this dissertation: (1) The Electoral Response Profile and (2) The Electoral Management Process model. Particular attention was given to the external socio-political and internal firm factors that might influence the strategic management of a PAC. The study also examined the organizational and operational characteristics of the Fortune 500 corporations whose PACs gave to candidates in the 1980 general election. The pattern of contributions options was analyzed in the aggregate for all Fortune 500 PACs, and by the 28 Fortune industrial groups.