CEO activism in America is risky business

https://www.economist.com/business/2021/04/14/ceo-activism-in-america-is-risky-business

by zczc • 5 years ago

3 1 5 years ago

I can't read past the paywall, but I am not sure how it is risky at this point. I am one of the people deeply offended by corporate activism and overt politicking, which is causing me to rethink who I patronize. At the same time, as all these companies try to out-do each other on who is more progressive, those who are alienated by this don't have much choice. There isn't a centrist or right-leaning alternative to many of these big brands that can sell low-priced products to rural America, for example. There's also a deeper problem with how consumers discover brands and products, which is that online advertising is controlled by companies in Silicon Valley, who espouse overt political biases - given how regularly we see things like YouTube demonetizing channels, I am not sure that companies with different politics will even be allowed to advertise by big tech giants.

Equally, it was never risky for corporations to stick to the status quo. I am not sure why all of a sudden every company feels like they need to care what some random nonprofit or vocal Twitter crowd demands from them. They could have just kept going about their business and stuck to their own politics with no fallout. Instead, here we are, with a deeper and deeper divide pervading America as we seek to only spend within our political circles.

CEO activism in America is risky business

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