Study: Americans wants business to stay quiet on most public policy issues
As the 2024 election draws closer, the overwhelming majority of Americans do not think businesses should take a stand on political candidates or most current events.
That’s according to a study based on an annual Gallup-Bentley University survey that provides insight on Americans' tolerance for corporate political involvement. The survey revealed that only 38% of U.S. adults say businesses should take public stances, a drop of 10 percentage points since 2022.
In addition, groups who were previously the most receptive to hearing from businesses — Democrats, Asian adults, and Black adults — are now considerably less likely to say so. Adults 60 and older saw a three-percentage-point increase in their support for businesses speaking publicly on current events in the past year, from 35% to 38%, though both percentages are lower than this group’s 43% who favored businesses speaking out in 2022.
While most adults generally think businesses should not speak publicly on current events, not all events are considered equal. Narrow majorities of U.S. adults want to hear from businesses on climate change (54%), mental health (53%) and diversity, equity and inclusion (53%).
Free speech (48%) and healthcare issues (48%) garner near-majority support, but far fewer U.S. adults want businesses to speak publicly on what may be several of the most salient issues during the November election, including gun laws (32%), immigration policy (31%), international conflicts (24%), abortion (20%) and the candidates themselves (17%).
The survey also found that consumers are less likely to purchase products from companies that endorse political candidates, particularly if the candidate is from the person's opposing political party. Businesses that publicly endorse a political candidate risk harming their bottom lines among consumers who do not share that candidate preference.
More than six-in-10 Democrats and Republicans (68% and 61%, respectively) say they would be less likely to purchase from a company that endorsed a candidate from the opposing party.
"Americans are comfortable expressing their politics through the businesses they choose but not the other way around,” said Maricruz Osorio, assistant professor of global studies, Bentley University. “They don’t want businesses choosing political candidates for them."
Companies that do choose to endorse a candidate may feel repercussions in their bottom lines, as many partisan consumers indicate they would be less likely to patronize businesses that formally endorse candidates of the opposing party, the study noted.
The survey — the third iteration of the Bentley-Gallup Business in Society Report — was conducted April 29-May 6, 2024, with a nationally representative sample of 5,835 U.S. adults from the Gallup Panel.
