New study shows individuals prefer when firms stay apolitical on polarizing issues
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Updates every hour. Last Updated: 10-Jul-2025 08:10 ET (10-Jul-2025 12:10 GMT/UTC)
Customers often prefer companies aligned with their values, but it has been less clear how they react to firms taking a stance on a polarizing topic. A new study published in Strategic Management Journal explores how individuals respond to firms' communications around a polarizing political issue: whether firms take an apolitical stance, say nothing, or choose an ideological stance. The findings highlight how firm and communication characteristics influence the ways in which individuals' opinions of the firm are affected by management’s political activism, and how individuals may prefer firms to stay neutral.
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