A study has
revealed that Apple CEO Tim Cook’s interventions on gay rights help to boost
interest in the tech giant’s products.
Mr Cook, who
succeeded Steve Jobs at the head of the Cupertino firm, came
out as gay in an op-ed in 2014.
He has
subsequently spoken out on LGBT rights a number of times – condemning
anti-gay legislation in his native Indiana, as well as lending
the firm’s weight to an employers’ brief in the Supreme Court equal
marriage case.
Most recently,
Apple was among companies to
endorse the proposed US Equality Act – Us-wide Democratic
legislation that would outlaw anti-LGBT discrimination in all 50 states.
This week, a study
has found that so-called activist CEOs such as Cook are actually
helping to drive up business for their brands by speaking out on issues.
Professors
Aaron Chatterji of Duke University and Michael Toffel of Harvard Business
School looked into the stances taken by Cook and other ‘activist’ CEOs – such
as Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, who has prioritised race relations.
Chatterji
explained to the Washington
Post: “These CEOs are intentionally courting controversy by weighing in on
contentious issues without any obvious pretense of raising profits.
“What we think
makes this new is that many CEOs are now speaking out on controversial issues
largely unrelated to the bottom line.
“If you’re a
businessperson, why would you want to alienate a large percentage of your
customers?”
In an
experiment, they found that a CEO’s stance could be influential on a topic –
but more importantly, actually boosted the likelihood that consumers would
commit to their products. People who were told of Mr Cook’s record on LGBT
rights were more likely to conclude that they would buy Apple products in the
near future.
The
researchers explain: “We find that Cook’s contention that the religious
freedom law legalizes discrimination against gays positively influenced
consumers’ intent to purchase Apple products, particularly among people who
supported same-sex marriage.
“This finding
implies that when CEOs take public stands on controversial issues, they can
galvanize support for their company from those who share the same viewpoint.”
“In this
manner, CEO activism’s primary effect is through signaling which side of a
public debate CEOs and, by implication, their companies are on.
They added: “At
the same time, CEO activism risks alienating consumers who disagree with the
CEO’s public stance.
“In our case,
the increase in purchasing intent for Apple products among respondents strongly
supportive of same-sex marriage occurs with no commensurate decline among those
opposed to same-sex marriage.
“However, the
benefits and costs of CEO activism will likely vary with the issue, with the
nature of the corporate leader’s involvement, and with the elasticity of demand
for the company’s products.”
However, the
study did not appear to take into account the ramifications in the global
market – and the potentially damaging impact on sales in countries where
LGBT people are vilified.
Of the
influence CEOs can have, they added: “These results suggest that there is
considerable power in how political or social issues are framed and that
corporate leaders— whose CEO activism often attracts media attention—can
use this power to their advantage when advocating in the public domain.”
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