Join Us for Our OMT/SIM Symposium at AoM 2025
Strategic/Societal Dynamics of CPA: Media, Communication, Positional Interests & Economic Pressures
Session 14915
Tuesday, July 29, 2025
1:45–3:15 PM CEST
Bella Center: Auditorium 10
This symposium examines the strategic, societal, and ideological dimensions of corporate political activity (CPA), addressing key gaps in our understanding of its implications for firms and stakeholders. As organizations navigate increasingly polarized political environments, CPA strategies including PAC contributions, lobbying, and ideological signaling can yield both competitive advantages and reputational risks.
The four studies in this session offer diverse perspectives on these dynamics. The first explores how firms' political positioning influences downsizing decisions and analysts' earnings forecasts. The second uncovers a U-shaped relationship between media attention and CPA visibility. The third introduces the concept of organizational political slant, analyzing ideological expressions in corporate communication. The fourth investigates how structural factors shape elite political donation behavior. Collectively, these presentations advance scholarship in Organization and Management Theory and Social Issues in Management by revealing how CPA informs firm behavior, stakeholder expectations, and broader societal outcomes.
Presentations:
PAC Contributions and Political Positioning: Economic Pressure, Layoff, and EPS Forecasts
Kwon Hee Han, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Can't See the Politics from the Noise? Mass-Media Information Overload and the Likelihood of Corporate Political Activity
Michael Hadani, Saint Mary's College of California
Organizational Political Slant: Unveiling Political Leanings in Corporate Communication
Yusaku Takeda, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Tommy Pan Fang, Rice University
The Structure of Corporate Political Action Revisited: A Position-Based Examination of Firm and Corporate Elite Political Donation Behavior
Richard Benton, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Adam Cobb, The University of Texas at Austin
Timothy Werner, The University of Texas at Austin
Discussant:
Michael Nalick, University of Denver
We invite scholars interested in corporate political activity, stakeholder management, and the societal impact of business to join this timely and thought-provoking discussion.
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Kwon Hee Han
PhD Candidate
School of Labor and Employment Relations
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
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