Democracy and Business: IHI Research Presented at BBOSS Symposium in Bath

On June 13, 2025, Dr. Benedikt Kapteina, Postdoctoral Researcher at the Chair of Business Administration, in particular Responsible Management, at IHI Zittau (TU Dresden), took part as a speaker at the inaugural Bath Business Organisations and Society Symposium (BBOSS 2025), held at the University of Bath, one of Europe’s leading research institutions in the field of corporate social responsibility and business ethics.

The symposium, organized by Annie Snelson-Powell and Andrew Crane (both University of Bath), brought together a distinguished international group of scholars, including renowned experts such as Thomas Donaldson (The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania), Dirk Matten (Schulich School of Business, York University), Laura J. Spence (King's College London), Stephan Manning (University of Sussex), Sarah Glozer (University of Bath), among many others.

BBOSS 2025 was closely connected to Trans-Atlantic Business Ethics Conference (TABEC), an exclusive transatlantic forum that convenes every two years, alternating between Europe and North America. Traditionally bringing together ten of the most respected business ethicists from both sides of the Atlantic, TABEC serves as a confidential space for open, in-depth dialogue on the pressing ethical challenges of our time. In 2025, for the first time, the network expanded to include early-career European scholars – with BBOSS acting as a public forum for intellectual exchange and connection-building among this extended community.

As part of the symposium, Dr. Kapteina presented key findings from a collaborative research project developed with Rolf Brühl (ESCP Business School), Markus Scholz, and Georg Wernicke (HEC Paris). The presentation focused on how German companies respond to democratic backsliding, particularly in politically polarized contexts. The project conceptualizes companies not merely as economic actors, but as potential contributors to democratic resilience in the face of societal and political strain.

"Especially in politically polarized environments, companies are called upon to take responsibility for the democratic framework within which they operate. The BBOSS symposium demonstrated the high level of international interest in this topic – and the continued importance of transnational, multi-perspective research in this field," said Kapteina.

A particular highlight of the event was the keynote lecture by Professor Thomas Donaldson, who powerfully argued for a multipolar approach to business ethics. His call to move beyond a Western-centric understanding of democratic values resonated throughout the symposium, including in Dr. Kapteina’s presentation, which advocated for context-sensitive, globally informed approaches to corporate engagement.

With BBOSS 2025, the University of Bath once again confirmed its position as a leading European hub for critical research at the intersection of business, society, and politics. Special thanks go to the organizers for their outstanding coordination, academic depth, and the welcoming, intellectually vibrant atmosphere of the symposium.