Scientific article
OA Policy
English

Have Faith in Business: Nestlé, Religious Shareholders, and the Politicization of the Church in the Long 1970s

ContributorsPitteloud, Sabineorcid
Published inEnterprise & Society, p. 1-29
Publication date2023-03-02
First online date2023-03-02
Abstract

During the 1970s, religious activists were heavily involved in national and international campaigns against multinationals and urged firms to adapt their behavior to align with Christian ethics. This article analyzes the strategies of Nestlé in addressing religious activism at three levels: national, international, and organizational. The analysis examines Nestlé’s collaboration with other Swiss and European multinationals and high-ranking church representatives in establishing dialogue platforms that sought to improve mutual understanding and promote tolerance for global capitalism. Nestlé also contributed to the creation of guidelines for the main churches in Switzerland that were aimed at their partial depoliticization. When Nestlé’s executives faced religious shareholder activists during its shareholders’ annual general meetings, they chose to engage with them to avoid their radicalization, although most of their demands ultimately remained unanswered. Overall, Nestlé contributed to the reorientation of religious discussions to small-scale ethical problems and business self-regulation rather than to substantial reforms of the capitalist economic system.

Keywords
  • Multinationals
  • Capitalism
  • Religious movements
  • Social Responsibility
  • Business Ethic
  • Case Method
  • Legitimation
Citation (ISO format)
PITTELOUD, Sabine. Have Faith in Business: Nestlé, Religious Shareholders, and the Politicization of the Church in the Long 1970s. In: Enterprise & Society, 2023, p. 1–29. doi: 10.1017/eso.2023.7
Main files (1)
Article (Published version)
Identifiers
Journal ISSN1467-2227
319views
1044downloads

Technical informations

Creation04/03/2023 09:14:00
First validation04/03/2023 09:14:00
Update time06/12/2024 14:49:19
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