Corporate political activity and trade policy in an emerging market

Abstract

The study examines the use concept of Corporate Political Activity in influencing trade policy within an emerging market. The practice of Corporate Political Activity and how it influences trade policy has been studied for years in developed economies mostly USA and Europe, but little to non has been studied from the perspective of an emerging market. For the purpose of the study South Africa was chosen as an emerging market of choice given its economic significance on the African continent. Furthermore, the automotive industry was used as the lens of study given the importance of the sector in global and south African economy. The study was an taken as an exploratory qualitative study with 11 participants being interviewed through a semi structured interview process. The participants were individuals of high seniority and deep knowledge of the industry from government affairs and trade policy administration perspective with collective and cumulative experience of over 150 years. Key contribution of study was theoretical contribution into the broader literature on Corporate Political Activity, trade policy and emerging markets theories from the African market perspective.