Employee perceptions of CEO political activism in organisations

Purpose Drawing on research in the political activism and moral psychology literatures, this paper aims to examine how organisational members perceive Chief Executive Officer (CEO) political activism and whether such perceptions are influenced by the context of CEO activism (i.e. liberal vs conservative). Design/methodology/approach To test the hypotheses regarding the perceptions of CEO activism, the authors conducted an online experiment in which working adults read a hypothetical workplace scenario and then assessed the appropriateness of CEO activism (vs no activism) across different contexts. Findings The authors found that organisational members generally perceive CEO political activism as inappropriate. In addition, they also found that this perception differs depending on the context of CEO political activism (i.e. whether a CEO engages in political activism related to liberal vs conservative causes). Originality/value As a result of the increasing political polarisation, more organisations and their leaders are becoming vocal and active in advocating for or against certain political causes. However, political activism in an organisational context can be risky because, as this research shows, organisational members generally perceive CEO political activism as inappropriate, especially in a conservative context.