A Taxonomy of CSR Political BehaviorGordon B. Schmidt, Kimberly W. O’Connor & William M. Jettinghoff

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Outline

• Discuss ambiguity of what is “responsible”• Describe each taxonomy category type• Give examples of each • Where do we need to go next?

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Supreme Court Case:Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, 2014

closely held for-profits are exempt (in some cases) from law owners religiously object to (Affordable Care Act part)

Was Hobby Lobby acting in a

“Responsible” way?

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Significant Differences Exist on What is “Good,” “Bad” and

“Responsible”Many can agree on the good of the Triple Bottom Line of economic, social, and environmental performanceBut we can disagree on balance between them and what is best (Eabrasu, 2012)

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Organizations impact on politics can be related to being “responsible” We present here a taxonomy of how such political behaviors can be classified from a CSR perspectivesThis is a broad definition of CSRThis is on purpose to capture as much as possible

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Tacit Approval/ ComplianceOrganizations follow the laws that fit with their values or values of society This often seen as outside CSRBut compliance can be major step

Shortly after the Supreme Court ruling legalizing gay marriage, the Episcopalian church made a statement allowing gay marriage in their churches

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Expressed approval but no direction political action

publically expressing support for an idea or movement but not taking direction action“Greenwashing” can often fall here“We Care” Adidas green campaign to

reduce pollution Only small shoe part recycled

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Direct public appealsDirectly appealing to customers and the community on social issues. Could include asking consumer to support or oppose potential legislation.

Ben & Jerry’s vs. GMOs

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Financing of political lobbyists

Hire lobbyists to convince politicians to support bills that fit organizations valuesOften think of in terms of profits but issues can be, too

AOL, Apple, Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Microsoft, Twitter and Yahoo formed the “Reform Government Surveillance” coalition.Motivated to influence net neutrality and surveillance policies hired Monument Policy Group

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Corporate donations to political campaigns 2010: Target CEO Greg Steinhafel

contributed $150,000 to anti-gay politician Before this, The Human Rights Campaign, gave Target a 100 percent approval rating for their treatment of LGBT employeesLGBT members planning boycotts of Target in disagreement

make political contributions to politicians that support the values of the organization and likely to support legislation that fits those values.

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Encouraging workers to vote for particular candidates or initiatives

Koch Brothers letters to employees to vote conservative, “consequences” to voting for Obama

Direct appeals to employees to vote for particular candidates or initiatives

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Taking up Legal Challenges

When laws conflict with organizational values perceptions of what is good for the community, organizations can bring up legal suits to overturn laws.

Verizon, AT&T + sued government On new net neutrality rulesRules take away control from internet providers Corporate control declines

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Direct Providing of Services or Related Supportive Benefits or RulesOrganization can fill quasi-governmental role.Countries with weak governments, organizations can step in and fulfill many traditional governmental roles such as guaranteeing of rights, building (Banerjee, 2007)

Google Fiber Internet made available for free to those in select public housing communities. Long term, Google plans expansion to developing nations to give people worldwide access to the Internet as learning source

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Where to Go Next?

Examine how organizations engage in each typeConsider more the ambiguity of what is “responsible”Impact of public reactions on how actions are seen