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#AOM 2025 Panel Symposium
Strategic Adaptation of Nonmarket Strategy in Politically Polarized Times

📅 Session #19761 | Sponsored by: STR, OMT, SIM
🕛 Sunday, July 27 | 12:00–1:30 PM (CEST)
📍 Bella Center, Hall C – C1-m3
🔗 View the session in the AOM program

Panelists:
• Magali Delmas (UCLA)
• William Reuben Hurst (University of Maryland)
• Mary-Hunter McDonnell (University of Pennsylvania)
• Jordan Siegel (University of Michigan)

Organizers:
• Zhao Li (New York University)
• Xuege (Cathy) Lu (University of Minnesota)
• Haram Seo (Arizona State University)

As political polarization intensifies globally, firms are increasingly challenged to rethink their nonmarket strategies-including how they engage in corporate political activity (CPA) and corporate social responsibility (CSR).

From strategic silence and stakeholder-driven activism to the covert use of philanthropy, this symposium brings together leading scholars to unpack the tensions, trade-offs, and opportunities of doing business in polarized times.

🧩 Key questions we'll explore include:

• How does polarization affect firms' ability to build cross-partisan coalitions?
• Are some CSR or CPA activities more prone to ideological backlash than others?
• When and how might CSR initiatives serve as covert channels for political influence?
• How do firms balance authenticity, stakeholder expectations, and reputational risk in polarized environments?
• When does polarization lead firms to stay silent-or take a stand?

We'll tackle these questions in conversation with some of the most respected voices in the field of nonmarket strategy. Join us for a timely conversation on how firms are adapting to-and shaping-the politics of today's nonmarket environment!