While it is clear that “coalition lobbying” is a frequently used influence strategy in political advocacy, the practices lying behind this term are diverse, complex, and cross-cutting. The term masks a variety of meanings, all of which highlight important collective dimensions in attempts by lobbyists to affect policy. It can refer to sets of actors with: (1) common preferences or goals, (2) coordinated activities, such as information exchange, strategy coordination, and concerted signaling of policy positions, as well as actors with (3) shared organizational structures, such as formally named coalitions or umbrella organizations.
This chapter reviews different conceptions of lobbying coalitions in inside and outside lobbying, drawing on seminal and recent research in the field. It addresses the question of which actors are potential coalition partners and/or targets of coalition action. Moreover, it summarizes accounts of why coalitions form, how they are composed and function internally, and whether and when they have beneficial effects in terms of increasing lobbying success. Existing evidence strongly suggests that the effects of coalitions vary depending on the characteristics of: (a) the coalition, (b) the issue, (c) the individual actor, and (d) the target audience or political “arena” of lobbying. Future comparative studies could further improve our understanding of such conditional effects in collective interest representation and influence production.