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For those interested in business and society, I call your attention to a new panel of business school professors which grades companies that take public positions on controversial political issues. (The American Marketing Association is an official content partner for this Real Time Expert Poll.)  

Yesterday, the panel graded Uber on its decision to actively campaign (e.g., mailers, emails) for a politician in Nevada.

The press release is below.

·       For more detailed results click here.

·       For more about the poll and a full list of panel members click here.

·       If you know a media organization who would like to interview a panelist about this, email Daniel Korschun (Associate Professor, dek46@drexel.edu).

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Uber is campaigning for a political candidate in Nevada: a panel of business school professors gives the move a "C"

PHILADELPHIA (November 1, 2016) -A poll asked a panel of business school professors to grade Uber on its first ever endorsement of a political candidate. The panel gave Uber a "C" for its move to support the re-election of republican candidate Derek Armstrong; Uber conducted a mailer and an email campaign encouraging voters to "Uber" to polls and cast their vote for him. Armstrong has been attacked by the Nevada State Democratic Party, which claims that he does not support sufficient criminal background checks for Uber drivers.

The Real Time Expert Poll © involves a panel of experts hailing from 39 world-renowned universities, including Oxford, Cornell, Columbia, INSEAD, Georgetown, Princeton and University of Pennsylvania. The panel periodically grades companies that take political stands, and also rates those companies on their transparency, consistency and other dimensions. The poll is administered by Drexel's Institute for Strategic Leadership with the American Marketing Association serving as an official content partner.

Grades from panelists ranged from "A" to "F." The average grade, using a standard GPA calculation, was a "C." The grades varied somewhat by the political leaning of the panelist.

A dominant theme from this poll is that Uber has probably overstepped a boundary. The professors on the panel found Uber's actions to be somewhat self-serving and even suspect. One anonymous panelist wrote, "It's cynical, self-interest dressed up as positive politics." Another said, "Uber is hiding its self-interest in supporting this candidate. The safety issue... could come back to haunt the company if it becomes widely known [that they use less stringent background checks]." A third questioned the timing of the move, "It's odd that Uber is making a stance so late in the election cycle in only one state and for just one race. Doesn't pass the smell test!"

Yet another professor was concerned about the precedent that this appeared to set. "Firms hire lobbyists to fight for their interests, but outright support for a candidate who supports them in return so publicly seems unsavory. Is this the face of modern politics?"

Overall, the endorsement may need to be viewed in light of existing perceptions of Uber. As one professor noted,

"Uber's political activism in this case is clearly self-serving. Thus, consumer responses will likely depend on what they think Uber's "self" is ... Those who see Uber as an underdog may view the political activism as a necessary part of "fighting the establishment." Others may see Uber as another "tech" company that is getting huge and thus may view the political activism as growth-focused opportunism."

Along with an overall grade, the poll asks panelists to rate the company on four additional dimensions. The panel rated this campaign contribution policy as materially relevant for stakeholders (4.2 on a 1-5 scale). It also gave adequate marks for the consistency of the policy with Uber's prior actions (3.5). However, the panel finds fault with the company's transparency (2.7) and gives somewhat lower scores for leadership on the issue (2.6).

Our official content partner is the American Marketing Association

The American Marketing Association (AMA) is the largest marketing association in the world, and an official content partner of the poll. Trusted by nearly 1 million marketing and sales professionals a year worldwide, the AMA has more than 70 professional chapters and over 350 collegiate chapters throughout North America and select international locations. The AMA serves organizations and individuals who practice, teach and study marketing across the globe. It serves as a forum for connecting like ‐ minded individuals to foster knowledge sharing and relationship building; to be a trusted resource for marketing information, tools, education and training; and to advance marketing practice and thought leadership.

For more information about the AMA, visit www.ama.org or follow the latest AMA news at @AMA_Marketing.

Our sponsor is the Institute for Strategic Leadership at Drexel University

Drexel LeBow's Institute for Strategic Leadership (ISL) led by Executive Director Alison Young advances an evidence-based perspective to leadership. The Institute believes that clear, verifiable support will help leaders diagnose preconceived ideas and assumptions that may not be accurate, and replace them with practices that have been proven to be effective. The Institute generates evidence –based knowledge through research grants, curriculum development and corporate outreach. 

Similar polls will be administered periodically when a company takes a public stand on a political issue. Panelists self-report their political leaning as liberal, middle of the road, or conservative. More details about the initiative, as well as a complete list of panelists (with contact information) is available at. Questions about the panel, poll, and methodology can also be directed to Dr. Korschun at dek46@drexel.edu.

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Dr. Daniel Korschun                    

Associate Professor

Research Fellow, Institute for Strategic Leadership (Drexel)

Fellow, Center for Corporate Governance (Drexel)

Fellow, ERS Hub (LUISS Guido Carli)

LeBow College of Business @ Drexel University

(215) 895-1998

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My previous book: Leveraging Corporate Responsibility (Cambridge University Press, 2011)