2023-10-03 16:54:40
The Brookings Institution’s semi-annual economic conferences in Washington usually focus on macroeconomic topics, but the current fall conference gives reason to think about corporate communication. The occasion was the presentation of a work on the consequences of the 2022 gas crisis for the German economy and the question of how the economy and its lobbyists communicated at the time.
Economist Tarek Hassan (Boston University) recalled statements in which the public and politicians were faced with the prospect of severe consequences for the failure of Russian gas supplies. An estimate by a lobby organization suggested a collapse in economic output of up to 12 percent was possible. Hassan analyzed the communication of around 300 German companies with their investors from 2022 and found that BASF, for example, had already assured its investors at the end of April that the company could deal with a 50 percent decline in its gas deliveries. That was certainly a pattern: Many other companies also tended not to dramatize the situation to investors and financial analysts, unlike some to the media and politicians.
It is better to play verbal games with caution
This is not an isolated case. Economist Jason Furman spoke about 2014, when the US announced sanctions against Russia. Furman, who was head of President Obama’s economic advisory staff at the time, recalled threats from a then-chairman of a major oil company who predicted the worst consequences for his company in Washington. A week later, the CEO assured his investors that he could handle the sanctions without any problems.
Published/Updated: Recommendations: 10 A comment from Gerald Braunberger Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 10 Published/Updated: Recommendations: 169
Managers are paid to represent the interests of the companies they run. Lobbyists are paid to represent the interests of their organization. The fact that things occasionally get hands-on is part of it. Storm-proof democracies can also withstand companies publicly painting the apocalypse on the wall. But in times of great uncertainty, this verbal game can support dangerous political trends that no one in business should be happy about.
#Dangerous #threats #apocalypse