Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • Article
  • Organization & Environment

Assessing the Impact of CEO Activism

By: Aaron K Chatterji and Michael W. Toffel
  • Format:Print
ShareBar

Abstract

CEO activism refers to corporate leaders speaking out on social and environmental policy issues not directly related to their company’s core business. Distinct from nonmarket strategy and traditional corporate social responsibility, the recent wave of CEO activism focuses on social issues unrelated to their core business, ranging from environmental issues to LGBTQ rights and race relations. In the first study of this phenomenon, we implement two framed field experiments to provide evidence on how CEO activism can influence public opinions about government policies and consumer attitudes regarding the CEO’s company.

Keywords

Business And Society; Leadership; Policy; Ethics; Values and Beliefs; Governance; Social Issues; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Public Opinion

Citation

Chatterji, Aaron K., and Michael W. Toffel. "Assessing the Impact of CEO Activism." Organization & Environment 32, no. 2 (June 2019): 159–185. (Profiled in the New York Times, Harvard Business Review, Forbes, Chief Executive magazine, CEO magazine, and by Edelman and Weber Shandwick.)
  • SSRN
  • Find it at Harvard
  • Read Now

About The Author

Michael W. Toffel

Technology and Operations Management
→More Publications

More from the Authors

    • April 2023
    • Faculty Research

    Driving Decarbonization at BMW – Instructor Spreadsheet Supplement

    By: Shirley Lu, George Serafeim and Michael W. Toffel
    • January 2023
    • Faculty Research

    Global Sourcing at Nike

    By: Nien-hê Hsieh and Michael W. Toffel
    • December 2022 (Revised April 2023)
    • Faculty Research

    Driving Decarbonization at BMW - Spreadsheet Supplement

    By: Shirley Lu, George Serafeim and Michael W. Toffel
More from the Authors
  • Driving Decarbonization at BMW – Instructor Spreadsheet Supplement By: Shirley Lu, George Serafeim and Michael W. Toffel
  • Global Sourcing at Nike By: Nien-hê Hsieh and Michael W. Toffel
  • Driving Decarbonization at BMW - Spreadsheet Supplement By: Shirley Lu, George Serafeim and Michael W. Toffel
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Accessibility
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College