18655: Amplifying Research Impact: Political Science and Business and Society Scholarship

This PDW highlights the possible role that political science scholarship can play for SIM research. Political science was initially peripheral to business and society scholarship. Corporate social responsibility activities – a key focus of business and society scholarship - have traditionally been assumed to reflect corporate voluntarism (beyond legal compliance activities). This assumption has left little room for the study of government action. On the other hand, political science focuses primarily on the role of the state as a key actor with little interest in business. Political science and management scholarship are (still) not well integrated. In recent years government regulation of corporate sustainability has increased tremendously around the world. This development is opening up a plethora of new research opportunities for SIM scholars. This PDW provides an opportunity to explore what some of these research opportunities could look like. This two-hour PDW is divided into a one-hour panel with presentations from scholars and practitioners focusing on sustainability regulation: 1) The role of government in corporate sustainability: The evolution of a research field; 2) Regulation and human rights; 3) The politics of business; 4) Politicization of the regulation of corporate sustainable business; and 5) A sustainable business perspective in practice. The panel discussion will be followed by a café-style discussion for 45 minutes where participants are split into groups to discuss and get feedback on their research ideas related to the relationship between political science and SIM scholarship. We conclude with a 15-minute discussion about core themes and ideas about how to move research in this area forward.