Forging a new corporate engagement

Purpose>This paper aims to highlight the need for corporations to engage politically to create a more functional capitalist system.Design/methodology/approach>Selective review of relevant economic and sociopolitical developments is presented in this paper.Findings>There is a growing movement among economists and commentators to hold corporations accountable for political engagement which they ignore at their peril.Originality/value>While individual strands of this story have been discussed before, the subject has never been handled from the perspective of corporate reputation in a comprehensive manner.

Sustaining corporate culture in a world of hybrid work

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the challenges to sustaining corporate culture in a world of hybrid working.Design/methodology/approachThis paper is a review of current literature on the impact of remote and hybrid working on white-collar employees.FindingsThere is little consensus on whether remote/hybrid working will harm or strengthen corporate culture.Research limitations/implicationsThe viewpoint is a subjective assessment of a limited number of articles on the subjectPractical implicationsIt is not entirely clear how those responsible for corporate culture can act on the findings.Social implicationsIn a world in which corporations are experiencing a shortage of talent, how they handle corporate culture will be increasingly important.Originality/valueWhile much has been written on the impact of remote working, this viewpoint takes the original view that strong corporate cultures rely more on the attitudes and actions of individual employees that company programs or initiatives.

A breakfast of champions: brand marketing lessons from the Great Depression

PurposeThis paper aims to examine whether the behavior of brands during the Great Depression held lessons for the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic.Design/methodology/approachA review of brand marketing and advertising from the 1920s and 1930s.FindingsThere are many learnings from the Great Depression that are instructive for today’s brand marketers dealing with COVID-19.Research limitations/implicationsThe review of the literature is not comprehensive and the findings are subjective.Practical implicationsToday’s brands can learn a great deal from the 1930s such as to take advantage of opportunities and avoid mistakes in today’s difficult environment.Social implicationsBy handling today’s challenges skillfully, brands can refresh relationships with consumers overwhelmed with choices.Originality/valueThough there was some commentary on this subject following the Great Recession of 2009, there has been little written about the lessons in brand marketing in the current situation.