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Corporate Political Speech and Moral Obligation

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  • Mary Stoll

Abstract

In the wake of Citizens United v. the Federal Elections Commission, more companies are spending heavily on political speech, but the moral implications of doing so are not clear. Few business ethicists have directly addressed the moral legitimacy of corporate political speech and the conditions under which it may be morally permissible. My goal here is to outline the moral hazards associated with engaging in corporate political speech. I argue that whether one takes a narrow Friedman-style shareholder primacy view of managerial duty, a broader stakeholder view, or an even more wide-ranging political corporate social responsibility view of the moral duties of business, various moral hazards must be taken into account in determining the moral legitimacy of corporate political speech. I discuss a number of moral hazards endemic to corporate political speech and suggest ways in which business practitioners might avoid those moral hazards. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015

Suggested Citation

  • Mary Stoll, 2015. "Corporate Political Speech and Moral Obligation," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 132(3), pages 553-563, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:132:y:2015:i:3:p:553-563
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-014-2355-9
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Shane Leong & James Hazelton & Cynthia Townley, 2013. "Managing the Risks of Corporate Political Donations: A Utilitarian Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 118(2), pages 429-445, December.
    2. David Silver, 2012. "Citizens as Contractualist Stakeholders," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 109(1), pages 3-13, August.
    3. Whelan, Glen, 2012. "The Political Perspective of Corporate Social Responsibility: A Critical Research Agenda," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 22(4), pages 709-737, October.
    4. John C. Coates IV, 2012. "Corporate Politics, Governance, and Value Before and After Citizens United," Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 9(4), pages 657-696, December.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Samuel Mansell & John Ferguson & David Gindis & Avia Pasternak, 2019. "Rethinking Corporate Agency in Business, Philosophy, and Law," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 154(4), pages 893-899, February.
    3. Adrian, Christofer & Garg, Mukesh & Viet Pham, Anh & Phang, Soon-Yeow & Truong, Cameron, 2022. "Policy and oversight of corporate political activities and the cost of equity capital," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(2).
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    5. Abraham Singer, 2018. "Justice Failure: Efficiency and Equality in Business Ethics," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 149(1), pages 97-115, April.

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