ArticleHarvard Business School Institute for Business in Global Society (BiGS)

Workplace Civics: Can Companies Safely Get Involved in the 2026 Elections?

Bill Ainsworth, 2026

https://www.hbs.edu/bigs/can-companies-safely-participate-in-2026-midterm-elections

What It Is: An HBS Institute for Business in Global Society article profiling how companies like Levi Strauss, Salesforce, and Patagonia are supporting non-partisan voter participation while managing the risks of political backlash.

Why It Matters: The perceived legitimacy of these programs is broad: 82% of U.S. adults say companies should give employees time off to vote, and 69% say firms should actively encourage voting. That external legitimacy translates to measurable company-level impact — working at a Time to Vote member company increases an employee's likelihood of voting by 2.1 percentage points, based on a study of 30 million workers at 377,000 companies.

How to Use It: Consider your company's existing commitments to civic participation and which level of engagement fits — paid time off to vote, poll-worker support, or voter registration partnerships. Then consider how to articulate your rationale in a way that respects broad public opinion on the issue. Use the Levi Strauss, Salesforce, and Patagonia examples as models.

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ReportTransparency International's Global Corruption Report

Corrupting the Rules of the Game: From Legitimate Lobbying to Capturing Regulations and Policies

Dieter Zinnbauer, 2009

What It Is: An early analysis in Transparency International's 2009 Global Corruption Report, examining the line between legitimate corporate lobbying — an accepted input to democratic decision-making — and lobbying that captures regulations and policy for private benefit.

Why It Matters: The report backs its argument with striking figures: politically connected firms are estimated to account for nearly 40% of market capitalization in the UK and 80% in Russia; roughly 2,500 lobbying organizations and 15,000 lobbyists compete for influence in Brussels alone; and US state-level lobbying spending averages $200,000 per legislator, with five lobbyists vying for each lawmaker's attention. Outlines the importance of considering Legitimacy of lobbying efforts, and Responsibility not to crowd out other voices."

How to Use It: Use this chapter's distinction between legitimate lobbying and policy capture as a discussion input when running a Public Affairs Governance Review with Third Side Strategies' Principled Influence Guide — particularly Step Two's policy assessment — to help sharpen the language in your Public Affairs Engagement Policy defining where advocacy ends and undue influence begins.

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ArticleSSIR

Lobbying for Good

Peterson/Pftizer, 2009

Outlines a framework to help companies determine how to engage with social issues and an appropriate level of engagement—ranging from supporter to champion—describing the key to an effective engagement plan that integrates functional silos, all bolstered by compelling case studies.

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ReportUN Environmental Programme

A legal framework for the integration of environmental, social and governance issues into institutional investment

Freshfields, 2005

This seminal report from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, addresses the question of whether institutional investors such as pension funds and insurance companies are legally permitted to integrate environmental, social and governance issues into their investment decision-making and ownership practices. The study describes the legal framework for institutions in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, the UK and the US.

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ReportAccountAbility, UN Global Compact

Towards Responsible Lobbying

Simon Zadek, 2005

This guide provides a framework for companies and NGO's to use to determine whether their lobbying practices are responsible.

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BookBerrett Koehler

Walking the Talk

Charles Holliday, Jr., Stephan Schmidheiny, Philip Watts, 2002

The book opens by establishing the minimum expectation that businesses support the right rules of the game—those rewarding long-term value creation rather than destruction—and shows how companies can live their values through cross-sector collaboration, eco-efficiency, and strategies advancing prosperity, planet, and people, supported by real-world cases.

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BookHarvard University Press

The Logic of Collective Action: Public Goods and the Theory of Groups

Mancur Olson, Jr., 1971

Mancur Olson’s classic work explains why individuals often fail to organize effectively around shared interests, even when collective action would benefit all. His “free rider” problem and distinction between small and large groups reshape understanding of labor unions, corporations, and political coalitions. Olson’s framework underlies modern theories of governance, lobbying, and institutional design—key foundations for Corporate Political Responsibility.

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WebsiteBraver Angels

Depolarization Dojo (Beta)

Braver Angels

The Depolarization Dojo is an interactive training platform designed to help individuals practice skills for reducing political polarization and engaging constructively across disagreement. Through simulations, exercises, and dialogue-based learning, it teaches users how to de-escalate conflict, challenge assumptions, and strengthen civic trust in increasingly polarized social and organizational environments.

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ArticleMIT Sloan

Finding the Middle Ground in a Politically Polarized World

Craig Smith and Daniel Korschun

Presents a framework for when companies should present forceful or tempered political positions based on their publicly stated values and materiality.

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Website

Long-term Stock Exchange Listing Standards

The Long-Term Stock Exchange (LTSE) listing standards include expectations that companies will take responsibility for long-term decision-making across strategy, governance, executive compensation, stakeholder engagement, and investor relations. These standards are designed to help businesses build sustainable value over time for all stakeholders, rather than focusing on short-term gains, allowing investors to better assess long-term capital investments.

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ReportSaylor Academy

Mastering Public Relations

Saylor Foundation

This textbook section introduces major corporate and agency public-relations subfunctions: issues management, media and community relations, CSR and philanthropy, investor relations, marketing communications, government relations, lobbying, internal communication, crisis management, and more. It shows how communication, advocacy, and stakeholder engagement are structured inside organizations, shaping how they respond to risks, opportunities, and public scrutiny.

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Workplace Civics: Can Companies Safely Get Involved in the 2026 Elections?

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