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THE INFLUENCE OF IDEOLOGY ON CORPORATE SOCIOPOLITICAL ACTIVISM: A STAKEHOLDER PERSPECTIVE

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Date Issued:
2023
Abstract/Description:
Despite the historical norm that businesses should refrain from making public political statements for fear of losing customers, recent history has shown an increase in firms wading into controversial sociopolitical topics. As politics become increasingly pervasive in everyday life, consumers, investors, employees, and the general public expect firms to engage in political topics and make their positions clear. However, the considerations and processes firms undertake in deciding whether to take political stands are largely unstudied. This study examines the role of firm executives’ ideologies on their propensity to engage in corporate sociopolitical activism (CSA). Further, I examine how the ideologies of organizational, social, and capital market stakeholders also influence the decision to engage in CSA as executives weigh the desires and expectations of key stakeholders. Using stakeholder theory, I argue that CEOs and top management teams (TMTs) are responsive to the ideological leanings of multiple stakeholder groups, while also considering their own political opinions. Studying a random sample of 139 public firms, I find that CEO and TMT ideologies, on their own, are not reliable predictors of firm CSA. Firms are more likely to engage in CSA when the CEO’s ideology is aligned with that of employees or the region surrounding the firm headquarters. I also find that the volatility of the firm’s stock price reduces the propensity toward CSA, suggesting that the potential for adverse impacts on firm value can blunt firms’ CSA efforts. Further, I find that firm factors, such as B2B vs B2C markets, firm size, and firm reputation also predict the likelihood of CSA. The results have theoretical implications by adding to the nascent body of CSA literature, as well as managerial implications for perceptions of the business environment and political influences.
Title: THE INFLUENCE OF IDEOLOGY ON CORPORATE SOCIOPOLITICAL ACTIVISM: A STAKEHOLDER PERSPECTIVE.
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Name(s): Rowley, John R., author
Neubaum, Donald , Thesis advisor
Florida Atlantic University, Degree grantor
Department of Management Programs
College of Business
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation
Date Created: 2023
Date Issued: 2023
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Place of Publication: Boca Raton, Fla.
Physical Form: application/pdf
Extent: 94 p.
Language(s): English
Abstract/Description: Despite the historical norm that businesses should refrain from making public political statements for fear of losing customers, recent history has shown an increase in firms wading into controversial sociopolitical topics. As politics become increasingly pervasive in everyday life, consumers, investors, employees, and the general public expect firms to engage in political topics and make their positions clear. However, the considerations and processes firms undertake in deciding whether to take political stands are largely unstudied. This study examines the role of firm executives’ ideologies on their propensity to engage in corporate sociopolitical activism (CSA). Further, I examine how the ideologies of organizational, social, and capital market stakeholders also influence the decision to engage in CSA as executives weigh the desires and expectations of key stakeholders. Using stakeholder theory, I argue that CEOs and top management teams (TMTs) are responsive to the ideological leanings of multiple stakeholder groups, while also considering their own political opinions. Studying a random sample of 139 public firms, I find that CEO and TMT ideologies, on their own, are not reliable predictors of firm CSA. Firms are more likely to engage in CSA when the CEO’s ideology is aligned with that of employees or the region surrounding the firm headquarters. I also find that the volatility of the firm’s stock price reduces the propensity toward CSA, suggesting that the potential for adverse impacts on firm value can blunt firms’ CSA efforts. Further, I find that firm factors, such as B2B vs B2C markets, firm size, and firm reputation also predict the likelihood of CSA. The results have theoretical implications by adding to the nascent body of CSA literature, as well as managerial implications for perceptions of the business environment and political influences.
Identifier: FA00014156 (IID)
Degree granted: Dissertation (PhD)--Florida Atlantic University, 2023.
Collection: FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
Note(s): Includes bibliography.
Subject(s): Business and politics
Corporations--Political activity
Political Activism
Ideology
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00014156
Use and Reproduction: Copyright © is held by the author with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.
Use and Reproduction: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Host Institution: FAU
Is Part of Series: Florida Atlantic University Digital Library Collections.