The corporation and private politics

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this article is to examine the increased public pressure on corporations to express a point of view on social politics such as same-sex marriage that have no intrinsic connection to their line of business.

Design/methodology/approach

By analyzing recent cases in which corporations have suffered from negative public sentiment regarding their policies on social issues, the authors adduce some guidelines for handling the intersection of corporate reputation and private politics.

Findings

This analysis led the authors to propose four strategies for coping with reputation assaults relating to private politics: dynamic sentiment mapping, developing points of view, continuous consumer conversations and decision clarity.

Originality/value

There is existing literature on this subject, but few recommendations for how to handle the issue.

Citation

Buell Hirsch, P. (2014), "The corporation and private politics", Journal of Business Strategy, Vol. 35 No. 3, pp. 59-62. https://doi.org/10.1108/JBS-03-2014-0035