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12 - Practitioner Views of Corporate Political Responsibility

Toward a New Social Contract

from Section V - Implementing Corporate Political Responsibility: Opportunities and Challenges

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 November 2023

By
Elizabeth A. Doty
Edited by
Thomas P. Lyon
Thomas P. Lyon
Affiliation:
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
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Summary

As scholars and activists seek to define and promote greater corporate political responsibility (CPR), they will benefit from understanding practitioner perspectives and how executives are responding to rising scrutiny of their political influences, reputational risk and pressure from employees, customers and investors to get involved in civic, political, and societal issues. This chapter draws on firsthand conversations with practitioners, including executives in government affairs; sustainability; senior leadership; and diversity, equity and inclusion, during the launch of a university-based CPR initiative. I summarize practitioner motivations, interests, barriers and challenges related to engaging in conversations about CPR, as well as committing or acting to improve CPR. Following the summary, I present implications for further research and several possible paths forward, including leveraging practitioners’ value on accountability, sustaining external calls for transparency, strengthening awareness of systems, and reframing CPR as part of a larger dialogue around society’s “social contract.”

Keywords

Practitionersocial contractcorporate political accountabilitygovernment affairssustainabilityclimateinequalitysocial justiceinclusioncoronavirus pandemicCOVID-19societal challengesscrutinypolitical spendingcampaign contributionslobbyingtrade associationsfirm-level risksreputational riskstakeholdersemployeescustomersinvestorspurposevaluescommitmentsalignmentcontradictionsgreenwashinghypocrisysystemic riskpolarizationgridlockpartisanshipbacklashstakeholder expectationsprocessesstakeholder engagementESGtransparencydisclosurereportingaccountabilityprinciplesproactivitycivic engagementcivic participationcorporate civic responsibilitycivic institutionspublic policymarket failuresexternalitiesrent-seekingmonopolypublic goodsscorecardsmisinterpretationsiloesreactivitymanagement timefatigueexecutive overloadspeed of responsewoke capitalismpolitical relationshipscross-partisanshipbusiness relevanceswimlanecivic institutionspublic distrustvilificationwatchdogsexploitationmetricsincentivescrony capitalismdifferentiationlevel playing fieldinternal changeexternal pressurebusiness educationMilton Friedmanshareholder value maximizationstakeholder capitalismdeliberative processesdeliberative democracyjustified hypernormsintegrated social contract theory (ISCT)stakeholder trusttaskforcegovernanceUS-centricISO 26000the Caux Round Table Principlesthe Ruggie Principlesthe United Nations Global Compact
Type
Chapter
Information
Corporate Political Responsibility , pp. 355 - 388
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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