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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

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.”

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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