In 2017 many businesses took a stand on the Australian marriage equality plebiscite. We saw a comparable trend in recent months, as corporate Australia declared its position on the Indigenous Voice to Parliament. This included everyone from the Big Four banks to Wesfarmers, Telstra and Rio Tinto. It was not only most of the ASX top 20 declaring their support but also numerous small businesses. Sectors as diverse as retail, publishing and education were represented. Such public commitment is part of a wider movement towards “brand activism” through which companies take on issues by publicly sup ..read more

Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock Paychecks are important, of course, but many people also want their work to “matter”. Whether this means helping people in your local area, or contributing to a global cause like reducing waste and fighting the climate crisis, 70% of respondents to a 2020 survey said their personal sense of purpose is largely defined by their work. Organisations often use the promise of “purpose” at work to attract and retain employees. They may offer you the opportunity to personally contribute to doing some lasting good beyond just completing tasks and earning a wage. This could incl ..read more

Shutterstock What’s the easiest way to improve a company’s social and environmental performance? The unfortunate answer, from our analysis of Australian public companies, is to change the way you measure it. In particular, by changing what you said last year to make this year’s performance look better. Reporting on environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance is increasingly important to the fortunes of listed companies – under pressure from investors, regulators and other stakeholders. In some cases, executive pay is tied to these metrics. Our study, which examined reports from the ..read more

Investors don't like it when companies do one thing and then say another. Adam Gault/Photodisc via Getty Images The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work. The big idea Stock investors punish companies caught doing something unethical a lot more when when these businesses also have a record of portraying themselves as virtuous. This hypocrisy penalty is the main finding of a study we recently published in the Journal of Management. Companies often espouse their supposed virtue – known as “virtue signaling” – usually with the aim of getting benefits, such as higher sales ..read more

New research has found that CEO ethics are more important to young job seekers than corporate social responsibility acts. (Shutterstock) In today’s job market, where highly skilled workers are scarce and specialized skills are in high demand, employers are facing the challenge of filling job positions. This situation has sparked intense competition — often referred to as the “war for talent” — among companies to attract and keep the best employees. To stand out in this battle for new talent, organizations have to appeal to job seekers. One way of doing this is for employers to effectively comm ..read more

A farmer walks on a marshy shore of a river polluted by oil spills in Nigeria’s Niger delta, region. Pius Utomi Ekpei/ AFP Companies implement corporate social responsibility (CSR) as a way to present an environmentally responsible image and therefore gain legitimacy in the eyes of their stakeholders. But some companies don’t actually live up to their claims. Some businesses claim to be doing good for the environment, but don’t. Often they undertake green projects only for marketing purposes or to brand their products. Or they do only what legislation and stakeholder pressure force them to. Bu ..read more

On the website of the Rijksmuseum, the blockbuster exhibition on Johannes Vermeer (10 February – 4 June 2023) is branded “the largest exhibition ever”. However, visitors’ hopes are soon dashed by a note informing them the show is sold out. “All of Vermeer’s works can still be admired via the online discovery tour,” the homepage volunteers. Often monographic, blockbuster exhibitions typically bring together a single artist’s iconic works, achieving record attendance thanks to a new value proposition. They are spectacular exhibitions with flamboyant scenographies that target mainly occasion ..read more

shutterstock Only nine in the UK’s top 100 companies have a woman CEO, a recent report has revealed – part of an “appalling” picture of British business which even in 2022 remains remarkably male dominated. The report, from accountancy giant EY and Cranfield University, goes on to reveal that only around 17% of executives in the FTSE 100 are female. This is despite recent efforts in some areas to improve corporate gender diversity – and a huge amount of research which supports doing so. Aside from evidence that companies with women CEOs actually make more money, it has been shown, for example ..read more

The company's profits will sustain these efforts in perpetuity. Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard, his wife and their two adult children have irrevocably transferred their ownership of the outdoor apparel company to a set of trusts and nonprofit organizations. From now on, the corporation’s profits will fund efforts to deal with climate change, as well as protect wilderness areas. It will, however, remain a privately held enterprise. According to initial reports about this unusual approach to philanthropy that ran on Sept. 14, 2022, Patagonia is worth ab ..read more

It has now become commonplace for major corporations to join in on LGBT events such as Pride Month, National Coming Out Day or the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia. Indeed, this is sometimes a source of criticism within the community as companies are perceived to be cashing in on LGBT causes. In the United States, several hundred American corporations are part of a Human Rights Campaign business coalition which advocates in support of a bill in Congress that would provide legal protections to LGBT people. But it is easy to forget that these demonstrations of suppo ..read more