What's behind the current wave of 'corporate activism'?
Steffen Böhm, University of Exeter ; Annika Skoglund, Uppsala University , and Dan Eatherley, University of Exeter Recent years have witnessed the emergence of what appears to be a new breed of business person: the corporate activist. Hardly a week goes past without the head of some blue chip or other publicly agitating for a better world, be they Tim Cook, CEO of Apple , speaking out on the environment and LGBTQI+ rights, or Starbucks founder Howard Schultz bemoaning “the violence, hatred, and empowerment of white supremacists” at a nationalist rally in Charlottesville. A recent article in the Harvard Business Review even offered a “CEO activist’s playbook” as a “guide for leaders who are deciding whether to speak out and how”. A closely allied trend is so-called “ brand activism ” in which businesses launch carefully designed “social good” campaigns aimed at building awareness about a particular issue while also promoting a positive corporate message. Recent h...