A large literature in economics, political science and management looks at the political activities, such as lobbying or campaign contributions, developed by firms to influence public policies. In this presentation, we will focus on the skills and knowledge –i.e., political capabilities- that firms might use in this context. More specifically, we will explore how institutional economics might help to develop a theory of what these political capabilities are and of the role they might play. We will then present an empirical investigation of the role of these political capabilities based on data from the U.S. electric utility sector.