Buffer or Bridge? Environmental and Organizational Determinants of Public Affairs Activities in American Firms
将企业公共事务活动分为缓冲型和桥梁型，基于权变理论和资源依赖理论，用美国大企业数据检验了环境不确定性和组织权力等因素对两种活动的影响。
This article suggests corporate public affairs activities can be broken clown into two types: activities that “buffer” from the social and political environment, and activities that “bridge” with that environment. Drawing on previous work related to contingency theory, resource dependence, and strategic management, we developed hypotheses concerning conditions under which firms will emphasize buffering, bridging, or both. The hypotheses were tested with data collected from large American firms and Lohmoller's partial-least-squares latent variable path analysis. Buffering is found to be positively associated with environmental uncertainty and organizational power. Bridging is positively associated with uncertainty and an institution-oriented philosophy on the part of top management.