This Special Issue examines how firms navigate the growing complexity of socio-political environments. In a world of regulatory pressures, social movements, populist politics, and global uncertainty, businesses increasingly engage in nonmarket strategies that extend beyond competition in markets alone.
The articles explore how corporations manage political engagement, corporate social responsibility, activism, and stakeholder relations across diverse contexts. Topics include how firms respond to government pressures, secure legitimacy, manage regulatory capture, and balance political activity with CSR to build trust and access. Case studies span industries and geographies, highlighting both the opportunities and risks of corporate involvement in socio-political issues.
The Special Issue advances understanding of how organizations can more effectively (and responsibly) strategize in political and social arenas, offering lessons for executives, policymakers, and stakeholders shaping the future of business–society relations.
Read the full issue here: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/14676486/2024/61/2 or browse the individual articles below.
The Management of Socio-Political Issues and Environments: Toward a Research Agenda for Corporate Socio-Political Engagement by Pei Sun, Jonathan Doh, Tazeeb Rajwani, Timothy Werner and Xiaowei Rose Luo
Have a Go or Lay Low? Predicting Firms’ Rhetorical Commitment versus Avoidance in Response to Polylithic Governmental Pressures by Jing Li, Jun Xia, Edward J. Zajac and Zhouyu Lin
Negative Incentives and Regulatory Capture: Noncompliance with Price Ceilings on Essential Medicines in India by Mirko H. Benischke and Ajay Bhaskarabhatla
Corporate Political Activities and the SEC’s Oversight Role in the IPO Process by Dimitrios Gounopoulos, Georgios Loukopoulos, Panagiotis Loukopoulos and Geoffrey Wood
Lost and Found in Translation: How Firms Use Anisomorphism to Manage the Institutional Complexity of CSR by Matteo Corciolani, Elisa Giuliani, Ashlee Humphreys, Federica Nieri, Annamaria Tuan and Edward J. Zajac
Can Corporate Social Responsibility Lead to Social License? A Sentiment and Emotion Analysis by Shuna Shu Ham Ho, Chang Hoon Oh and Daniel Shapiro
Corporate Social Performance, Legitimacy, and the Choice of Foreign Partners by State-Controlled Entities in the Global Extractive Industries by Pavlos C. Symeou and George I. Kassinis
Populist Syndrome and Nonmarket Strategy by Daniel J. Blake, Stanislav Markus and Julio Martinez-Suarez
A Blessing and a Curse: Institutional Embeddedness of Longstanding MNE Subsidiaries in Emerging Markets by Christiaan Röell, Felix Arndt and Vikas Kumar
How Political Actors Co-Construct CSR and its Effect on Firms’ Political Access: A Discursive Institutionalist View by Onna Malou van den Broek
Why Do Some Multinational Firms Respond Better Than Others to the Hostility of Host Governments? Proximal Embedding and the Side Effects of Local Partnerships by Caterina Moschieri, Davide Ravasi and Quy Huy
List of Reviewers for this Special Issue
