ABSTRACT
Th e political perspective embraces interest groups as a normal occurrence within organizations. Interest groups oft en coalesce into coalitions to infl uence decisions, aff ect change, and exercise power. Th ey particularly form when people do not have suffi cient power on their own, so they combine their eff orts. Interest groups and coalitions are particularly useful when resources, power, and valuable institutional assets are at stake. Because coalition members have agreed to cooperate, they are a group of individuals who act and can be treated as one (Cyert & March, 1959/2005). Interest groups and coalitions enable the less powerful to exert collective power as well as express their voices in the academic and administrative processes. Th rough bargaining and side payments, among other approaches, coalition participants exert infl uence, defi ne objectives, and facilitate decisions.
