Sep 17, 2025
Kapteina Delivers Guest Lecture at Rutgers Business School
At the invitation of the Institute for Ethical Leadership at Rutgers Business School (RBS), represented by Prof. Joanne B. Ciulla, Prof. Danielle Warren, Prof. Tobey Karen Scharding, Prof. Wayne Eastman, and Prof. Robert C. Hughes, Dr. Benedikt Kapteina, Postdoctoral Fellow at the Chair of Business Administration, especially Responsible Management at IHI Zittau, Technische Universität Dresden, delivered a guest lecture on September 17, 2025, titled “Corporate Democratic Action: How Responsible Companies Champion Democracy”.
The lecture team at Rutgers brings a broad range of expertise. Prof. Joanne B. Ciulla is a pioneer in Leadership Ethics and has served for many years as Director of the Institute for Ethical Leadership. Her research on meaningful work, power dynamics, and moral dilemmas in leadership is internationally recognized.
In his lecture, Dr. Kapteina presented the concept of Corporate Democratic Action (CDA), which goes beyond traditional lobbying to describe corporate practices that actively strengthen democratic institutions, political participation, and the rule of law. Using case studies of German companies – including Jenoptik, Deutsche Bank, and Volkswagen – he illustrated how firms take public stances, form alliances, and credibly defend democratic values. He also highlighted the risks that democratic backsliding poses to businesses, such as loss of trust, societal polarization, and increased uncertainty.
The Rutgers team as a whole combines interdisciplinary expertise in democracy, ethics, and responsible management. Within this context, Dr. Kapteina’s lecture offered a direct thematic contribution: his research on Corporate Political Activity and Responsibility, Business and Democracy, and Business and Human Rights complements and extends the discourse that Ciulla, Warren, Scharding, Eastman, and Hughes have advanced at Rutgers over the years.
Dr. Kapteina emphasized: “Companies bear not only economic responsibilities but also responsibilities for the democratic structures in which they operate. Corporate Democratic Action provides a way to manage these responsibilities strategically and effectively.”
The subsequent discussion underlined the relevance of CDA both for faculty research and for the practical implementation of responsible corporate governance. For TU Dresden and particularly IHI Zittau, this lecture is especially valuable as it highlights research on Corporate Democratic Action at a leading international center and strengthens the institute’s profile in transatlantic exchanges on democracy, ethics, and corporate responsibility.