Responsible leadership

What the publications show

1. Gallup and Bentley University report that support among Americans for CEOs speaking out on social or political issues fell from 65 per cent in 2018 to 55 per cent in 2026. Fortune reports the same cooling.

   Gallup and Bentley University, 2026 (opens in a new window) · Fortune, 2026 (opens in a new window)

2. Support within organisations is thin too. In a University of Wisconsin experiment, workers generally find political activism by the CEO inappropriate, and a survey of American board members shows a large majority preferring silence.

   University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh, 2025 (opens in a new window) · ESG Today, on the What Directors Think survey by Corporate Board Member, Diligent and FTI Consulting, 2025 (opens in a new window)

3. Experiments find that a CEO’s stance changes customer behaviour. The University of Virginia sees demand fall among those who disagree, even when nobody sees the purchase; Stanford sees reputational gains when the company can show it acts in a socially responsible way.

   University of Virginia, 2026 (opens in a new window) · Stanford University, 2026 (opens in a new window)

4. The publications contradict each other on which issues matter. Gallup finds support only for issues that affect the company itself; experiments by Arizona State University find the best brand outcomes for morally charged issues with little connection to the company.

   Gallup and Bentley University, 2026 (opens in a new window) · Arizona State University, 2026 (opens in a new window)

5. Two studies find that the response depends on political leaning. Conservative customers and job applicants prefer silence to a stance they share (Texas A&M University), and conservative activism is seen as the least appropriate (University of Wisconsin).

   Texas A&M University, 2025 (opens in a new window) · University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh, 2025 (opens in a new window)

Topics within responsible leadership

This list shows what the publications on this theme are about, with the number for each topic. Open a topic to see its publications; if a topic has a briefing, the link is underneath.

• Support and backing4 publications

  • Support for Businesses Taking a Public Stance Cools · Gallup and Bentley University, 2026
  • Americans are souring on CEOs who speak out on social and political issues · Fortune, 2026
  • 2026 CEO Activism Survey · Stanford Graduate School of Business, Rock Center and Hoover Institution, 2026
  • More than 80% of U.S. Board Directors Prefer Executives Stay Quiet on Social Issues · ESG Today, on the What Directors Think survey by Corporate Board Member, Diligent and FTI Consulting, 2025
  Briefing: Public support for CEOs who speak out on social issues →
• Customer response3 publications

  • Values and visibility: How CEO activism influences private and public consumer choices · University of Virginia, 2026
  • How corporate sociopolitical activism in brand communication shapes brand engagement and consumer-based brand equity: the roles of moral intensity, business rel · Arizona State University, 2026
  • Stakeholder Political Ideology, Purpose of Business Beliefs, and Responses to CEO Activism: Introducing an Asymmetry Model · Texas A&M University, 2025
• Reputation and credibility2 publications

  • CEO Activism and Corporate Reputation: How Authenticity and CSR Mitigate Stakeholder Misalignment · Stanford University, 2026
  • How corporate sociopolitical activism in brand communication shapes brand engagement and consumer-based brand equity: the roles of moral intensity, business rel · Arizona State University, 2026
• Political leaning2 publications

  • Stakeholder Political Ideology, Purpose of Business Beliefs, and Responses to CEO Activism: Introducing an Asymmetry Model · Texas A&M University, 2025
  • Employee perceptions of CEO political activism in organisations · University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh, 2025

Briefings on this theme

Where several organisations publish roughly the same thing on a topic, we have used AI to compile a briefing. Click a card for the key point, the figures with their sources and what it means for the leadership team.