In other cities, big-business interests are often feared political players. In Philadelphia, specific industries or companies find success lobbying lawmakers or winning favors from city agencies. But the voice of the business community as a whole has long played a less significant role in shaping political discourse. And in the past, the business lobby could rely on help from the mayor’s office, which for years had been occupied by politicians sympathetic to their concerns. But as a new generation of liberal activists has pushed the city further to the left, the struggles of big business to influence policy and politics have come into sharper focus.