Communication of political interest groups in Switzerland: Adressees, channels and instruments

We present a broad overview on the Swiss interest group population and the results of a quantitative online survey on the communication repertoire of 985 interest groups. We then discuss sample construction and the different addressees of interest group communication, the perceived relevance of mass media channels, and which instruments and measures are used to communicate with external and internal environments. We identify four different logics - influence, support, reputation and reciprocity - that influence the communication activities of political intermediaries such as interest groups.