The Partisan Realignment of American Business:Evidence from a Survey of Corporate LeadersEitan Hersh and Sarang Shah*August 1, 2023. Abstract
For decades, the business community has been viewed as a core constituency of the
Republican Party. However, several factors, such as corporate prioritization of social
values and anti-business sentiment among Republican rank-and-file, suggest a majorcoalitional shift is underway. Scholars have debated whether this shift is an illusion
or is real. At the core of this debate is how business leaders navigate two forms of
organizational conflict: a.) stakeholder cross-pressure, and b.) policy cross-pressure.
To measure cross-pressure, we conduct an original survey of elite business leaders.
Our evidence suggests a widespread view that companies are increasingly aligned withthe Democrats, including in alignment on core policy priorities. When companies
are cross-pressured, leaders perceive the company as leaning toward the Democrats.
The decoupling of business from the Republican coalition represents one of the most
significant changes in American politics in decades
