Teaching cases on democracy and capitalism

Making Target the Target: Boycotts and Corporate Political Activity

Through the challenges facing Target, the case examines ways in which corporations can become involved in political and legislative debates and processes, ranging from campaign contributions to lobbying to political activism. 

In 2019, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) turned seventy-years-old and became the longest active authoritarian regime in recent history. By then, China was the world’s second largest economy by GDP and a high-technology industrial powerhouse, with ambitions to bring connectivity infrastructure to developing nations.

Audrey Tang: Using Technology to Strengthen Democracy in Taiwan

 In early 2020, Tang is faced with the problem of a potentially growing COVID pandemic and the explosion of misinformation. How can Tang control both the pandemic and the infodemic while retaining the government’s principles of cooperation and transparency? 

In 2022, the US Congress examined the Democracy Is Strengthened by Casting Light on Spending in Elections (DISCLOSE) Act. As they were discussing DISCLOSE, members of Congress debated whether 1) business involvement in campaigns had been a force for good; 2) campaign contributions should be encouraged or curtailed; and 3) regulations of other dimensions of electoral campaigns should be reformed.

This case focuses specifically on the use of Facebook for political speech in the United States and around the world. It covers the advent of Facebook as a political tool, the ‘Facebook era’ in American presidential elections, including charges of Russian interference, ‘fake news’ and disinformation, and targeted advertising, allegations of unfair censorship and double standards, the 2021 ‘whistleblower’, Frances Haugen, and the Facebook response to all these issues.  

This case presents The Coca-Cola Company’s (Coke’s) involvement in the controversial Georgia voting bills.  It can be used to explore brand purpose and activation of purpose through activism.

A year of political turmoil, capped by the violent insurrection at the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021, presented new challenges to many corporations, including AT&T, which had strong lobbying relationships with many members of Congress that had objected to the election results and had even made political action committee (PAC) contributions to 98 of their campaigns. 

In 2022, Carlsberg, more than other West European consumer goods companies, was exposed to Russia when Russian military forces invaded Ukraine in February. This created complex operational and ethical challenges the company had to address with urgency. 

This case focuses on the rising trend of CEO activism, especially as it relates to business extending its impact on democracy. The case centers on the contentious political issues of gun violence, gun rights, and gun control in the context of Walmart CEO Doug McMillon, who took a stance on gun control by reducing gun and ammunition sales after a mass shooting in 2019 at a Walmart store in El Paso, Texas.