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
  • September 2022
  • Case
  • HBS Case Collection

Deciding When to Engage on Societal Issues

By: Hubert Joly and Amram Migdal
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:15
ShareBar

Abstract

This case provides brief descriptions of 18 examples of corporate leaders confronting questions of whether and how to engage with societal issues, including social, political, and environmental issues. Social issues include COVID-19; social and racial justice; discrimination and prejudice; gender, sex, and sexual orientation; and humanitarian crises. Political issues included voting rights, abortion rights, and geopolitical conflict and rivalry. Environmental issues included climate change. The examples took place between 2014 and 2022. The examples are:
1. Delta Airlines/Ed Bastian: Vaccine Mandates (2021)
2. Racial Justice: Starbucks/Howard Schultz: “Race Together” (2015)
3. Merck/Ken Frazier: Charlottesville, President Trump, and Race (2017)
4. Starbucks/Kevin Johnson: Philadelphia Incident (2018)
5. OneTen Initiative: Living Wage Jobs for Black Americans (2020)
6. Tech Leaders: Oppose the Trump Travel Ban (2017)
7. Delta Airlines/Ed Bastian: Rescinding NRA Discounts after the Parkland Shooting (2018)
8. Corporate Leaders: Responding to Anti-Asian Hate (2021)
9. Salesforce.com/Marc Benioff: Indiana Boycott for Religious Freedom Restoration Act (2015)
10. Target/Brian Cornell: North Carolina “Bathroom Bill” (2016)
11. Disney/Bob Chapek: The Florida “Don’t Say Gay” Bill (2022)
12. H&M/Helena Helmersson: China, Uighurs, and Human Rights (2020)
13. Corporate Leaders: Voting Rights and Election Bills (2021)
14. Corporate Leaders: Texas Abortion Ban (2021)
15. Unilever/Alan Jope: Ben & Jerry’s, Israel, and Occupied Palestinian Territory (2021)
16. Google: Ceasing Search in China (2018)
17. Apple/Tim Cook: Data Privacy in China (2021)
18. Amazon/Jeff Bezos: Co-Founding Climate Pledge (2019)

Keywords

Political Issues; Social Justice; Racial Justice; Environmental Issues; Social Issues; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Values and Beliefs

Citation

Joly, Hubert, and Amram Migdal. "Deciding When to Engage on Societal Issues." Harvard Business School Case 523-045, September 2022.
  • Educators
  • Purchase

About The Author

Hubert Joly

General Management
→More Publications

More from the Authors

    • February 2025
    • Faculty Research

    Lessons from the Magnificent Seven and Other Remarkable High Growth Companies

    By: Hubert Joly and Kayti Stanley
    • September 2024
    • Faculty Research

    Jamie Dimon’s 2024 Letter to JP Morgan’s Shareholders and the Role of Business in Society

    By: Hubert Joly
    • July 2024
    • Faculty Research

    Living up to Purpose and Performance at Parker Hannifin

    By: Hubert Joly, Alicia Dadlani and Martha Hostetter
More from the Authors
  • Lessons from the Magnificent Seven and Other Remarkable High Growth Companies By: Hubert Joly and Kayti Stanley
  • Jamie Dimon’s 2024 Letter to JP Morgan’s Shareholders and the Role of Business in Society By: Hubert Joly
  • Living up to Purpose and Performance at Parker Hannifin By: Hubert Joly, Alicia Dadlani and Martha Hostetter
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.