Prelims

Half Title Page

CEOs on a Mission

Series Title Page

Communicating Responsible Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Series Editor: Donnalyn Pompper

This Communicating Responsible Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion series brings together leading scholars of public relations, communication management, (corporate) social responsibility, sustainability, and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Together, we offer critique and map new arenas for discovery in an effort to advance a collective goal of eliminating bias/discrimination from organizations and other public spaces. Simultaneously, we amplify the virtues of equality and respect among humans and for all species.

Despite nearly two decades of public relations theory building and formal study about the importance of DEI, numbers of public relations practitioners who are not male or Caucasian/White have not grown in meaningful ways and research directions seem to have hit a wall. Examining public relations as a “responsibility” provides new avenues for critiquing ways power operates in and through public relations work. This proposed series will add a much-needed contribution to global understanding of intersections among DEI with social responsibility to enable public relations practitioners and organizations (corporations and nonprofits) to take lip service to the next level. To be authentic, DEI must be a component of social responsibility and sustainability. And the public relations practitioner, as insider-activist and ethics guardian, is the logical point person to infuse DEI-thinking in policies, decision-making, and everyday life throughout organizations.

Volumes in this series:

Public Relations for Social Responsibility – Edited by Donnalyn Pompper

Endorsements

Title Page

CEOs on a Mission: Reimagining CEO Activism, Development, and Difference

By

Eric Kwame Adae

Drake University School of Journalism and Mass Communication, USA

United Kingdom – North America – Japan – India – Malaysia – China

Copyright Page

Emerald Publishing Limited

Howard House, Wagon Lane, Bingley BD16 1WA, UK

First edition 2023

Copyright © 2023 Eric Kwame Adae. Published under exclusive licence by Emerald Publishing Limited.

Reprints and permissions service

Contact: permissions@emeraldinsight.com

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without either the prior written permission of the publisher or a licence permitting restricted copying issued in the UK by The Copyright Licensing Agency and in the USA by The Copyright Clearance Center. Any opinions expressed in the chapters are those of the authors. Whilst Emerald makes every effort to ensure the quality and accuracy of its content, Emerald makes no representation implied or otherwise, as to the chapters' suitability and application and disclaims any warranties, express or implied, to their use.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN: 978-1-80382-216-7 (Print)

ISBN: 978-1-80382-215-0 (Online)

ISBN: 978-1-80382-217-4 (Epub)

Dedication

This book is dedicated to God Almighty; It is in loving memory of my father Victor Kwaku Adae; to my children, and to yours.

List of Figures

List of Abbreviations

1D1F

One District, One Factory (Program of Ghana)

AGITPROP

Agitation and Propaganda (tactics)

AIDS

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome

BA

Brand Activism

BR

Brand Responsibility

CEO

Chief Executive Officer

CIA

Central Intelligence Agency

CPA

Corporate Political Activity

CPP

Convention People's Party

CSA

Corporate Social Advocacy

CSE

Comprehensive Sexuality Education

CSR

Corporate Social Responsibility

DEI

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity

ECOWAS

Economic Community of West African States

EI

Executive Instrument

ESG

Environmental, Social, and Governance

EWN

Executive Women Network

GAB

Ghana Association of Bankers

GCBOD

Ghana Chamber of Bulk Oil Distributors

HIV

Human Immunodeficiency Virus

IEA

Institute of Economic Affairs

IFC

International Finance Corporation

MoGCSP

Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Protection

NCA

National Communication Authority

NDC

National Democratic Congress

NGP

National Gender Policy

NPP

New Patriotic Party

NRC

National Redemption Party

PCSR

Political Corporate Social Responsibility

PRSA

Public Relations Society of America

SYPALA

Students and Young Professionals African Liberty Academy

TBL

Triple Bottom Line

TEF

Tony Elumelu Foundation

TIN

Tax Identification Number

UBA

United Bank for Africa

About the Author

Eric Kwame Adae, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Public Relations at Drake University School of Journalism and Mass Communication. He earned his doctorate degree in Media and Communication Studies from the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication. He is from Ghana in West Africa, where he earned undergraduate and master's degrees from the University of Ghana. He is an accredited public relations practitioner and was a communications consultant for over 15 years in Ghana. He has presented at various academic and professional conferences, including the National Communication Association (NCA), the International Communication Association (ICA), the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), and the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA). He was named the Public Relations Professional of the Year (2021) by the Public Relations Society of America Iowa Chapter. In 2021, he and Professor Donnalyn Pompper won the Doug Newsom Award of the AEJMC PR Division with their paper, “PR & Sustainability across the African Continent: Using Afro-Centric Philosophies to Remember What's Been ‘Forgotten or Lost’.” His research interests include responsible management, corporate social advocacy, corporate social responsibility, sustainability, critical public relations, and Afrocentricity.

Eric Kwame Adae, PhD, APR

Drake University School of Journalism and Mass Communication

Des Moines, Iowa USA Email: eric.adae@drake.edu

Foreword

In 2020, a study by the Zeno Group (a division of the Public Relations firm Daniel J. Edelman) published a global research report regarding the role of business in society. This study was influenced by the notion that in today's society, many people have lost trust in the traditional institutions that they regularly rely on, including government, the media, and educational institutions. The global pandemic of 2020 and 2021 did little to change these perceptions. As a result, many people now choose to look to business and to the brands produced by companies to address problems that traditional institutions no longer seem capable of addressing. The Zeno Group's study found that people definitely believe that corporations can be responsible, with the term responsible defined as caring as much about society as they do about profits. When people think a business is responsible, they are four times more likely to purchase the brand and recommend the company. These consumers are also six times more likely to protect the company from public criticism, if any criticism is to be had.

Corporate leaders themselves are aware of the power that business has to address key problems in society. WPP is a British-based international communications holding company, focused on “building better futures for our people, planet, clients, and communities” (WPP.org, 2023). As one of the first companies to publish its own sustainability report, the company is highly invested in addressing their “work, marketing standards, employment, supply chain, and social investment.” WPP's CEO Sir Martin Sorrell offered a strong endorsement for the industry and his company tackling key societal problems, saying:

Yet the big problems that our society faces – those of inequality, unemployment, health crises, water scarcity and climate change – remain far from being resolved. While technology holds the key to tackling some of these problems, it is also exacerbating others. Demographic shifts and the exponential growth of the global middle class look set to further strain our planet’s limited resources. I am often asked what the role of business should be in tackling such complex issues. My view is that it has a critical role to play. Indeed, these challenges cannot be addressed without the participation of global business, as a driver of growth and creator of jobs and a force for innovation. In partnership with governments and civil society, business will create many of the solutions we will need over the coming decades. It is in the interests of business to play its full part. It must do so if it wants to secure future supplies of natural resources, to build skills and to help create strong communities that enable business to prosper. (WPP Group, 2014, p. 2)

Sorrell highlighted the need and opportunity for businesses around the world to create social justice solutions to societal problems, and used his corporate sustainability report to begin to document efforts that his own company had undertaken. He ended by proposing that WPP will help brands embed sustainability into their life cycles, as his firm could provide the specialist knowledge and skills to do so. The firm went on to develop activist work on several brands owned by global giant Unilever, addressing education (with the cleaning brand Persil), beauty standards (for the beauty brand Dove), rural sanitation (for a disinfectant brand called Domestos), and rainwater harvesting (for telecommunications company Vodafone) (Sheehan & Morrison, 2018). While no longer leading the company, Sorrell's influence on activist communication is undeniable.

Every company, though, does not have the resources to create global communication campaigns to address social issues. And when companies want to engage, many do not know where to start. In today's chaotic society, the opportunity for corporate and brand activism is great: Pimentel and Didonet (2021) developed a typology that identified a range of areas that companies could address with various types of activism. The first area defined is social activism, where the firm addresses issues such as gender, equality, race, and education. The next area is legal activism, where firms are involved in workplace issues, employment laws, and issues regarding taxation. A third area, business activism, includes addressing CEO pay and worker compensation. The fourth area, economic activism, involves inequality and the redistribution of wealth, while political activism addresses lobbying and voting rights. Finally, environment activism addresses key issues facing the planet, such as global warming, conservation, land use, and pollution.

Corporate activism and society's call to action to address key social issues must be answered by someone in a place of responsibility in a firm. This individual must be capable of embracing and modeling notions of brand activism. As this book will discuss, the CEO occupies a natural position to create a level of activism in the company.

Penn State Smeal Business School professor Donald Hambrick, interviewed for the school's alumni magazine, defined CEO activism as when CEOs speak out on societal debates that have little direct bearing on near-term company performance. Hambrick characterized CEO activism as “a relatively recent, rapidly mounting, and controversial phenomenon. Many observers assume that CEO activism accomplishes very little, while some believe that it's downright risky” (Manno, 2022).

As this book will show, CEOs have a range of responsibilities to shareholders, employees, consumers, and more. Driving these responsibilities of an activist CEO are several key responsibilities to an activist agenda, as outlined by Pimentel and Didonet (2021). These include:

• Environmental responsibilities: making sure the planet exists so the brand can thrive

• Economic responsibilities: strengthening economies by providing jobs

• Public health responsibilities: determining how brands affect people on the physical, emotional, and psychological levels, potentially influencing deep cultural change

Balancing the range of responsibilities and shareholders is at the heart of creating a strong and activist company, and this book will highlight how activist CEOs create and maintain this balance.

Importantly, an activist CEO must have a long-term perspective toward the business. Short-term corporate profits can sometimes grow through unethical and irresponsible means (Carruci, 2016). An activist agenda, though, must be in place for the long term, as doing the right thing may cost a bit more than purely serving the bottom line. However, a commitment to being an activist brand has the potential to build equity in a company that will withstand the test of time.

In this book, Eric Kwame Adae has identified key CEOs that have built strong businesses by being activist CEOs and has probed their perspectives, strategies, and challenges of choosing this method of corporate leadership. He identifies how they create long-term customer loyalty, legal compliance, and strong brand reputations that have led their companies to success. He also articulates the key challenges that CEOs face in this mission. Most importantly, the book shows the role that national and global culture plays in brand activism. Grounded in key theories and enlivened by CEO insights, this book provides a critical and cultural roadmap for any CEO seeking to adopt an activist agenda.

Kim Bartel Sheehan, PhD

Professor Emerita

University of Oregon

School of Journalism and Communication

Eugene, Oregon

USA

Acknowledgments

Related to my doctoral dissertation and my general wider research interest in corporate activism, this book project has been a journey of self-discovery. I am exceedingly grateful to a whole village of supporters and helpers. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Prof Leslie Steeves, Prof Kim Sheehan, Prof Alan Meyer, and Prof Michael Russo. The bells in the chambers of my heart ring in gratitude to Prof Christopher Chavez and Prof S. Senyo Ofori-Parku.

This research project profited from a generous fellowship from the University of Oregon Graduate School. I am very grateful to all the socially minded and forward-leading activist CEOs on a positive social mission in Ghana who collaborated with me. Please accept my heartfelt appreciation: Prof Donnalyn Pompper, Prof Molefi Kete Asante, Prof Kenneth Amaeshi, Prof Robert Hinson, Prof Audrey Gadzekpo, Prof Derina Holtzhausen, and Prof Melissa Dodd. Many thanks to Prof A. B. Assensoh, Prof Yvette Alex-Assensoh, Dr Allen P. Heaman, Dr Emmanuel Adu-Sarkodee, Karen Jean Brown, Nana Akua Mensa-Bonsu, and Ebenezer Nana Hammond of CallPrint Ghana Limited.

I am grateful to my wife, Mrs Brenda Adae for being my best friend, my rock, and my anchor. I love you completely. To my children, Marie-Ann Adae, Marian-Rose Adae, and Eric Adae (II), thank you for giving me a reason to keep going. I am grateful to the Adae, Abbrey, Boni, Asare, and Sampah families for being my unfailing backbone. Thank you, Prophet Gideon Danso, Bishop Oko Bortey-Doku, Rev Dr Paul Lartey, and Rev Ben Johnson.

Abba Father, You are faithful! Thank you for all the blessings. Holy Spirit, thank You for being my ever-present help in times of need. Thank You, dear Lord Jesus Christ. May Your name be praised forevermore. Selah!