From Systems to Root Cause CPR Responsibility

Karthik Ramanna of the University of Oxford

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On November 11, 2021, we spoke with Karthik Ramanna of the Blavatnik School of Government at the University of Oxford to explore “Corporate Political Responsibility in ‘Thin’ Political Markets.”

Given the historical context of business influence, Ramanna has argued that simplistic responses can be dangerous, saying that “encouraging companies to further step into the role of governments and civil society groups by becoming more ‘socially focused’ risks further depreciating our public institutions.” When businesses enter the public sphere, do the lines of separation of powers blur?

In this module, we explore:

• From a societal perspective, what are the dangers in pushing companies to become more “socially focused”?
• Who has the power to set “pro-social rules of the game”?

The Corporate Political Responsibility Taskforce (CPRT)’s Expert Dialogues are in-depth, recorded conversations with academic experts, stakeholder advocates and business practitioners to provide our members and other CPR champions with the expertise and context they need to develop principled, proactive CPR strategies. We invite those interested in a constructive, non-partisan, principles-based discussion.

Karthik Ramanna is a Professor of Business and Public Policy and Director of the Master of Public Policy at the Blavatnik School of Government at the University of Oxford. In his 2015 paper with Rebecca Henderson, "Do Managers Have a Role to Play in Sustaining the Institutions of Capitalism?", Professor Ramanna argues that managers must define CPR differently in “thin” political markets. That is, where the public is not fully informed or adequately represented in decision-making, responsible corporate political influence must shift from narrow business interests to concern for the system overall

The full transcript for this module is available here. 

KEYWORDS: #CorporatePoliticalResponsibility #ESG #CivicEngagement #ClimatePolicy #LongTermValue