Corporate Political Activism and Reputation Risks: The Starbucks Case Via Media Exposures

Corporate political activism (CPA) could be defined as a business' stance towards political issues which are of particular interest to a part or majority of the public, and actions they take in this context. When compared with ordinary corporate social responsibility activities, CPA activities, due to the subjects focused, pose risk of reputation loss for businesses that implement them. The reformed business-community dynamics that were shaped by the changing consumer expectations and increasing impact of businesses, forces said businesses to conduct a more thorough decision making process. In this research that handles the Starbucks Race Together campaign, which is originated from the racial unrest in the United States of America and resulted in corporate reputation loss, it is aimed to thoroughly investigate the reasons behind said reputation loss. The findings that were acquired through media exposures show that "lack of sincerity of the campaign", "business-cause incompatibility and problems regarding the applicability of the campaign", and "aim-application incompatibility of the campaign" play a crucial role in the reputation loss of a business. Despite the risks it brings about regarding reputation, it is not possible to deem CPA activities as utterly harmful or useless. The findings from the Starbucks Race Together campaign provide essential implications for businesses that would like to participate in advocacy of social problems