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Corporate populism: How corporations construct and represent ‘the people’ in political contestations

Nyberg, Daniel and Murray, John LU orcid (2023) In Journal of Business Research 162.
Abstract
Business implications of the recent surge in populism in societal and academic discourse have been relatively neglected. This is surprising, considering that corporations provide financial support (e.g., donations and political action committees), intellectual resources (e.g., think tanks and public relations firms) and informational channels (e.g., social media platforms) that populist parties and movements depend on. In this article, we develop a conceptualization of corporate populism as a distinct form of firm or industry practice to theorize how corporate political involvement influences democratic processes. The concept of corporate populism problematizes the prevailing treatment of corporations as political actors in corporate... (More)
Business implications of the recent surge in populism in societal and academic discourse have been relatively neglected. This is surprising, considering that corporations provide financial support (e.g., donations and political action committees), intellectual resources (e.g., think tanks and public relations firms) and informational channels (e.g., social media platforms) that populist parties and movements depend on. In this article, we develop a conceptualization of corporate populism as a distinct form of firm or industry practice to theorize how corporate political involvement influences democratic processes. The concept of corporate populism problematizes the prevailing treatment of corporations as political actors in corporate political activity (CPA) scholarship by attending to the democratic implications of business mobilization efforts. The practice of corporate populism is significant in that it influences democracies by constructing and reifying divisions in society, legitimizing de-politicization, and repressing representative democratic deliberations. (Less)
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author
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publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Corporate populism, Democracy, Corporate political activity, Populism
in
Journal of Business Research
volume
162
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • scopus:85151012501
ISSN
0148-2963
DOI
10.1016/j.jbusres.2023.113879
language
English
LU publication?
no
id
65204404-b8c4-422b-aee2-7c624bd9e34f
date added to LUP
2024-02-14 11:55:14
date last changed
2024-02-15 11:56:13
@article{65204404-b8c4-422b-aee2-7c624bd9e34f,
  abstract     = {{Business implications of the recent surge in populism in societal and academic discourse have been relatively neglected. This is surprising, considering that corporations provide financial support (e.g., donations and political action committees), intellectual resources (e.g., think tanks and public relations firms) and informational channels (e.g., social media platforms) that populist parties and movements depend on. In this article, we develop a conceptualization of corporate populism as a distinct form of firm or industry practice to theorize how corporate political involvement influences democratic processes. The concept of corporate populism problematizes the prevailing treatment of corporations as political actors in corporate political activity (CPA) scholarship by attending to the democratic implications of business mobilization efforts. The practice of corporate populism is significant in that it influences democracies by constructing and reifying divisions in society, legitimizing de-politicization, and repressing representative democratic deliberations.}},
  author       = {{Nyberg, Daniel and Murray, John}},
  issn         = {{0148-2963}},
  keywords     = {{Corporate populism; Democracy; Corporate political activity; Populism}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Journal of Business Research}},
  title        = {{Corporate populism: How corporations construct and represent ‘the people’ in political contestations}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2023.113879}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.jbusres.2023.113879}},
  volume       = {{162}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}