Lighting up the Blackbox — Digital Transformation in German Lobbying

Digital transformation, alongside social media channels, influences policymaking. The aim of this research is to build knowledge of the consequences of digital transformation on lobbying at German federal level. This analysis uncovers how digital lobbying works in Germany and how it changes classic lobbying communication within the political sphere. Taking a grounded theory approach, the study addresses both communicating sides: lobbyists, on the one hand, and members of the German Bundestag and their employees, on the other. A profound understanding of, and differentiation between, lobbying and digital lobbying is gained through a first data-gathering step of 15 interviews with representatives of both the political and lobbying sides. The study extends previous analyses by supplementing the findings with ethnographic data from the researcher’s experience of working as an employee of a member of the German Bundestag. Final conclusions were drawn by presenting these results in the second data-gathering step, during four (digital) focus groups with the political side and three with agency, association, and corporate lobbyists from Berlin. The analysis uncovers a power shift in lobbying communication and a novel communication direction.