Corporate populism: How corporations construct and represent ‘the people’ in political contestations

Abstract

Business implications of the recent surge in populism in societal and academic discourse have been relatively neglected. This is surprising, considering that corporations provide financial support (e.g., donations and political action committees), intellectual resources (e.g., think tanks and public relations firms) and informational channels (e.g., social media platforms) that populist parties and movements depend on. In this article, we develop a conceptualization of corporate populism as a distinct form of firm or industry practice to theorize how corporate political involvement influences democratic processes. The concept of corporate populism problematizes the prevailing treatment of corporations as political actors in corporate political activity (CPA) scholarship by attending to the democratic implications of business mobilization efforts. The practice of corporate populism is significant in that it influences democracies by constructing and reifying divisions in society, legitimizing de-politicization, and repressing representative democratic deliberations.