Communication of Values and Corporate Social Responsibility: Markus Scholz at the 2026 Communications Congress

How should companies respond when societal polarization increases and liberal democracy comes under pressure? Prof. Dr. Markus Scholz discussed this question at the 2026 Communications Congress in Berlin.

The Communications Congress brings together executives from corporate communications, academia, and consulting. The panel discussion “Speak Up or Stay Silent—Does Position-Based Communication Drive the Division of Our Society?” drew considerable interest; during which Markus Scholz debated the topic with Prof. Dr. Olaf Hoffjann (University of Bamberg), moderated by Sabine Klisch (Jenoptik), before a packed audience.

The discussion centered on a thesis that also shapes the research of the Chair of Responsible Management: A company’s political responsibility does not mean that it should take a public stance on every sociopolitical conflict. Scholz spoke out in particular against purely symbolic stance communication. Public statements alone, he argued, are no substitute for substantive corporate engagement. Where companies assume political responsibility, this should rather be strategically justified, coherent, and permanently embedded in corporate governance.

At the same time, Scholz emphasized: When the foundations of liberal democracy come under pressure, silence does not automatically equate to neutrality. The discussion thus tied directly into his research on political corporate responsibility and his book *Business with Values *.

The strong response at the conference and in the aftermath underscored the topic’s high practical relevance. The panel also demonstrated the particular value of the exchange between current research and corporate practice.