IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jbuset/v198y2025i2d10.1007_s10551-024-05813-w.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Productive Tensions of Corporate Pride Partnerships: Towards a Relational Ethics of Constitutive Impurity

Author

Listed:
  • Jannick Friis Christensen

    (Copenhagen Business School)

  • Sine N. Just

    (Roskilde University)

  • Stefan Schwarzkopf

    (Copenhagen Business School)

Abstract

Based on a qualitative study of Copenhagen 2021 WorldPride, this article explores collaboration between the local organiser and its corporate partners, focusing on the tensions involved in this collaboration, which emerge from and uphold relations between the extremes of unethical pinkwashing, on the one hand, and ethical purity, on the other. Here, pinkwashing is understood as a looming risk, and purity as an unrealizable ideal. As such, corporate sponsorships of Pride are conceptualized as inherently impure—and productive because of their very impurity rather than despite it. Analytically, we identify and explore three productive tensions where the first involves emergent normativities for what constitutes good, right, or proper corporate engagement in Pride, the second revolves around queer(ed) practices and products that open normativities, and the third centres on the role of internal LGBTI+ employee-driven networks whose activism pushes organisations to become further involved in Pride, developing aspirational solidarity. Reading across literatures on corporate activism and queer organisation, we introduce Alexis Shotwell’s notion of constitutive impurity to suggest that the potential for ethical corporate Pride partnerships arises when accepting the risk of pinkwashing rather than seeking to overcome it.

Suggested Citation

  • Jannick Friis Christensen & Sine N. Just & Stefan Schwarzkopf, 2025. "Productive Tensions of Corporate Pride Partnerships: Towards a Relational Ethics of Constitutive Impurity," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 198(2), pages 345-363, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:198:y:2025:i:2:d:10.1007_s10551-024-05813-w
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-024-05813-w
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10551-024-05813-w
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10551-024-05813-w?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Chen, Zhifeng & Hang, Haiming & Pavelin, Stephen & Porter, Lynda, 2020. "Corporate Social (Ir)responsibility and Corporate Hypocrisy: Warmth, Motive and the Protective Value of Corporate Social Responsibility," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 30(4), pages 486-524, October.
    2. Christensen, Lars Thøger & Morsing, Mette & Thyssen, Ole, 2020. "Timely hypocrisy? Hypocrisy temporalities in CSR communication," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 327-335.
    3. Aurélien Feix & Georg Wernicke, 2024. "When Is CEO Activism Conducive to the Democratic Process?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 190(4), pages 755-774, April.
    4. Warren, Danielle E., 2022. "“Woke” Corporations and the Stigmatization of Corporate Social Initiatives," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 32(1), pages 169-198, January.
    5. Thomas Calvard & Michelle O’Toole & Hannah Hardwick, 2020. "Rainbow Lanyards: Bisexuality, Queering and the Corporatisation of LGBT Inclusion," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 34(2), pages 356-368, April.
    6. Szerena Szabo & Jane Webster, 2021. "Perceived Greenwashing: The Effects of Green Marketing on Environmental and Product Perceptions," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 171(4), pages 719-739, July.
    7. Zoe Lee & Amanda Spry & Yuksel Ekinci & Jessica Vredenburg, 2024. "From warmth to warrior: impacts of non-profit brand activism on brand bravery, brand hypocrisy and brand equity," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 31(2), pages 193-211, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Matthew Amengual & Rita Mota & Alexander Rustler, 2023. "The ‘Court of Public Opinion:’ Public Perceptions of Business Involvement in Human Rights Violations," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 185(1), pages 49-74, June.
    2. Yiming Wang & Yuhua Xie & Mingwei Liu & Yongxing Guo & Duojun He, 2024. "Silent Majority: How Employees’ Perceptions of Corporate Hypocrisy are Related to their Silence," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 195(2), pages 315-334, November.
    3. Ramona Demasi & Christian Voegtlin, 2023. "When the Private and the Public Self Don’t Align: The Role of Discrepant Moral Identity Dimensions in Processing Inconsistent CSR Information," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 187(1), pages 73-96, September.
    4. Zhifeng Zhang & Fariha Sami & Irfan Ullah & Sami Ullah Khan & Salahuddin Khan, 2024. "Analyzing the green marketing approaches and their impact on consumer behavior toward the environment in China: a logistic regression approach," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 26(11), pages 29453-29474, November.
    5. Guosen Miao & Guoping Chen & Fan Wang & Anupam Kumar Das, 2023. "The Effect of Corporate Greenwashing on Employees’ Environmental Performance: Person–Organization Values Fit Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-19, February.
    6. María Luisa Pajuelo‐Moreno & María Jesús Barroso‐Méndez & Dolores Gallardo‐Vázquez, 2024. "Relationship between sustainability disclosure and corporate reputation: Evidence from a meta‐analysis," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(8), pages 8593-8615, December.
    7. Liu, Jing-Yue & Lei, Quan & Li, Ruojin & Zhang, Yue-Jun, 2024. "Resistance or motivation? Impact of climate risk on corporate greenwashing: An empirical study of Chinese enterprises," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    8. Tian, Jinfang & Sun, Siyang & Cao, Wei & Bu, Di & Xue, Rui, 2024. "Make every dollar count: The impact of green credit regulation on corporate green investment efficiency," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    9. Ziyi Fang, 2024. "Greenwashing Versus Green Authenticity: How Green Social Media Influences Consumer Perceptions and Green Purchase Decisions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(23), pages 1-13, December.
    10. Shiu-Li Huang & Yu-Ren Leau, 2024. "Understanding How Consumers’ Perceived Sustainability Influences Their Continuance Intention to Use Sharing Economy Services," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(17), pages 1-16, September.
    11. Yin, Lei & Yang, Yuanyuan, 2024. "How does digital finance influence corporate greenwashing behavior?," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 93(PB), pages 359-373.
    12. Meng, Jia & Zhang, ZhongXiang, 2022. "Corporate Environmental Information Disclosure and Investor Response: Empirical Evidence from China's Capital Market," FEEM Working Papers 317842, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM).
    13. Sajid, Muhammed & Zakkariya, K.A. & Suki, Norazah Mohd & Islam, Jamid Ul, 2024. "When going green goes wrong: The effects of greenwashing on brand avoidance and negative word-of-mouth," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    14. Hu, Xinwen & Hua, Renhai & Liu, Qingfu & Wang, Chuanjie, 2023. "The green fog: Environmental rating disagreement and corporate greenwashing," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    15. Yongzhi Qi & Yuchen Chai & Yifan Jiang, 2021. "Threshold effect of government subsidy, corporate social responsibility and brand value using the data of China’s top 500 most valuable brands," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(5), pages 1-15, May.
    16. Ashish Ashok Uikey & Ruturaj Baber & Zericho R Marak, 2025. "Transforming Green Transparency into Green Brand Loyalty and Repurchase Intentions: The Role of Brand Image and Credibility among Electric Vehicle Users," Post-Print hal-04925852, HAL.
    17. Hyuck Jin Lee, 2024. "Does corporate ESG, an essential factor for overcoming the climate crisis, affect sustainability: The effects of psychological distance and purchase intention," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(8), pages 8747-8758, December.
    18. Vanessa Effendy & Zengrui Xiao, 2025. "How Does Cultural Sustainability Promote Fashion Consumers’ Purchase Intention?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(5), pages 1-14, February.
    19. Christodoulou, P. & Psillaki, M. & Sklias, G. & Chatzichristofis, S.A., 2023. "A blockchain-based framework for effective monitoring of EU Green Bonds," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 58(PB).
    20. Nataliia Kochkina & Silvia Macchia & Michela Floris, 2024. "Strategic Language Use in Sustainability Reporting: An Empirical Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(23), pages 1-31, November.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:198:y:2025:i:2:d:10.1007_s10551-024-05813-w. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.