CEOs on a Mission
Reimagining CEO Activism, Development, and Difference
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- Description
- Contents
- Reviews
- About
Today, CEOs function increasingly as social activists, often pursuing socio-political causes which fall outside of their usual pursuit of the corporate or financial bottom line. Based on a series of long interviews and the application of alternative theoretical lenses, this book examines this phenomenon within the African context on the road to creating a CEO Activism Development Model.
Addressing the gender disparity that continues to persist in this field, chapters consider alternative perspectives on corporate socio-political involvement, including motivations, tactics, safeguards and guidelines. Through a distinct postmodern lens, Eric Kwame Adae further explores how CEO activism fits into more specific African contexts and intersects with certain Afrocentric philosophies, including Caritas, Ubuntu philosophy and Africapitalism.
Breaking new ground in his analysis of CEO activism within a non-Western sociocultural context, Eric Kwame Adae presents an exciting exploration of the theoretical, managerial, practical and methodological implications of CEO activism today.
Chapter 1. Introduction: Reimagining CEO Activism, Development, and Difference
- Chapter 2. Doing Well to Do Good: A Quick Map of the Field of Corporate Sociopolitical Involvement
- Chapter 3. This Is Why We Do It: Examining CEO Activism Motivations
- Chapter 4. Walking the Talk: Africapitalism as a Major Motivation for CEO Activism
- Chapter 5. This Is What We Fight For: Examining CEO Activism Issues
- Chapter 6. This Is How We Do It: Examining CEO Activism Tactics
- Chapter 7. Counting the Costs and Reaping the Dividends: Examining CEO Activism Effects
- Chapter 8. Taking Cover: Examining CEO Activism Safeguards
- Chapter 9. Profiting from Experience: Examining CEO Activism Guidelines
- Chapter 10. Conclusion: The CEO Activism Development Model
Eric’s approach to understanding activism is to build what social scientists call a “process model.” This means that he approaches CEO activism not as a static role or a category, but as a process that unfolds over time and evolves as external stakeholders react to a CEO’s words and actions. Eric digs into his interviews to smoke out the motives that drive some CEOS to activism, to explain how they chose the issues and causes for their advocacy, to spell out the tactics and safeguards they employed, and to reflect on activism’s consequences for society, companies, and CEOs themselves.
In an era roiled by acronyms that include CSR (corporate social responsibility), DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion), and ESG (environmental, social, and governance factors), this book is an eye-opener. For executives, it presents a model for those who want to undertake activism or understand colleagues that do. For academics, it affords insights into the antecedents, dynamics, and consequences of CEO activism, informed by Eric’s postmodern perspective. For everyone, CEOs on a Mission provides a good read.
Eric Kwame Adae is Assistant Professor of Public Relations at Drake University School of Journalism and Mass Communication, USA. He was a communications consultant for over 15 years in Ghana. He is an accredited member of the Institute of Public Relations (Ghana), an associate member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (Ghana) and the Advertising Association of Ghana (AAG).