In contrast to their reaction to gay rights or the war in Ukraine, relatively few companies have openly criticized the Supreme Court ruling ending a constitutional right to abortion.
Muscovites rushed to buy furniture and other goods from IKEA before it closed its Russian stores.
AP Photo/Vladimir Kondrashov
Over 300 companies so far have closed stores, reassigned staff or halted sales in Russia in the two weeks since the invasion began.
People with the Pride Alliance Network, sponsored by Starbucks, walk along Ocean Drive during the 11th annual Pride Parade as part of Miami Beach Pride week on April 7, 2019, in Miami Beach, Florida.
Usually, companies use this power to secure financial benefits for themselves, such as tax or regulation relief. But increasingly, they’re using it for social causes as well.
Young people have dominated Black Lives Matter protests.
STRF/STAR MAX/IPx
Companies are increasingly taking stands on hot-button political issues from LGBT rights to Black Lives Matter. New research shines light on whether and when it can benefit the bottom line.
A ‘Black Lives Matter’ billboard hangs above a Modell’s in New York.
Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images
Big businesses often engage in social activism because they want to sway public policy outcomes. They’re not exclusively trying to appeal to liberal customers.
Though Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce might be outspoken on some progressive issues, he supports the system that pays him 300 times that of the average Australian.
Mick Tsikas/AAP
Opposition leader Anthony Albanese appears to be distancing himself from his predecessor Bill Shorten with his pro-business rhetoric.
Gillette backed up its campaign by US$3 million in charitable donations, but the brand has been criticised for appropriating the #MeToo movement.
Proctor & Gamble
Gillette isn’t the only male-centric brand to have recently challenged masculine stereotypes. But advertising research can help us understand why it’s been getting the most flack.
Gillette’s ‘the best a man can get’ campaign exemplifies a new type of corporate political activism.
Gillette
United’s CEO called the Trump policy ‘in deep conflict’ with his company’s values, the latest example of a corporate leader speaking out on a political issue, something almost unheard of a few decades ago.
Erran Carmel, American University Kogod School of Business and Chris Edelson, American University School of Public Affairs
Despite a growing list of reasons why business leaders might oppose the president or his policies, more than two-thirds have remained steadfastly neutral.