Research: Public Opinion Is Not Enough to Hold Companies Accountable

In particular, the authors found that the American public is less likely to judge companies negatively when they are involved in certain types of abuses, or when they are more distantly connected to perpetrators, meaning that in certain situations, it may fail to drive companies to adhere to international guidelines. As such, while companies should certainly pay attention to the public, the authors argue that they must not rely on public opinion alone to guide their decision-making.

In particular, some leaders havethat the court of public opinion creates a reputational cost to working with governments or business partners that may have committed human rights abuses. These financial motivations are sometimes implicitly treated as a stand-in for other mechanisms — such as legal requirements — to ensure that businesses respect human rights.is a political scientist and associate professor at the University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School.

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Research: Public Opinion Is Not Enough to Hold Companies AccountableWhile the court of public opinion can be an effective tool to push companies to avoid involvement with human rights abuses, new research suggests that in certain situations, this mechanism can be insufficient for effectively aligning incentives.
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