Kapteina at the University of Michigan: Lecture on Corporate Democratic Action

Dr. Benedikt D. S. Kapteina, Postdoctoral Fellow at the Chair of Business Administration, especially Responsible Management, at the International Insitute of the Technical University of Dresden, delivered a guest lecture on November 20, 2025, at the invitation of Prof. Dr. Thomas P. Lyon, Dow Chair of Sustainable Science, Technology, and Commerce and Faculty Director of the Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise, as well as Prof. Dr. Charlene Zietsma at the Ross School of Business, on the topic “When Business Defends Democracy: Corporate Democratic Action in Europe.”

The Stephen M. Ross School of Business is among North America’s leading management schools and is internationally recognized for research on sustainability, corporate responsibility, governance, and the democratic accountability of business. Kapteina’s lecture directly engages with the work of Ross faculty. Prof. Jerry Davis, Gilbert and Ruth Whitaker Professor of Business Administration, Prof. Mark S. Mizruchi, Professor of Management and Organizations, and Prof. Andrew Hoffman, Professor of Sustainable Enterprise and renowned expert on corporate sustainability and social responsibility, focus on corporate political behavior, governance structures, and the influence of firms on political processes.

© Michigan Ross

The Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise, led by Thomas P. Lyon, integrates these themes in an interdisciplinary manner. Lyon’s research on corporate political responsibility positions the Erb Institute as a natural forum for discussions on Corporate Democratic Action. In this context, Kapteina emphasized: “My collaboration with Tom Lyon demonstrates that Corporate Democratic Action is not merely a theoretical concept, but connects practice-relevant debates on corporate responsibility and democracy at a global level.”

Using empirical case studies of European companies in the context of EU elections, Kapteina illustrated how firms take public positions, form alliances, counter disinformation, and promote political participation. The subsequent discussion with students and faculty addressed the visibility of democratic responsibility, the limits of legitimate political influence, and its integration into governance systems.

For TU Dresden and IHI Zittau, the guest lecture marks a key milestone: it demonstrates that research on Corporate Democratic Action constitutes a broad, interdisciplinary agenda, driven by Dr. Benedikt Kapteina, Prof. Markus Scholz, and the full team of the chair. The presentation at the Erb Institute and the Ross School underscores the international recognition of research conducted at IHI Zittau and highlights Germany as a reference point for European, democracy-oriented corporate practice.