Bentley and Massachusetts Business Roundtable Gather Executives from Top Companies To Discuss How Business Impacts Society

Bentley University and the Massachusetts Business Roundtable brought together Bay State business leaders for a dinner and discussion focused on the results of this year’s Bentley-Gallup Business in Society Report, which reveals how Americans believe business is impacting society. 

The event in Boston included executives from Alkermes, American Tower Corporation, Berkshire Bank, Deloitte, Design Communications Ltd., EY, General Dynamic Mission System, Liberty Mutual, Orsted Offshore North America and TD Bank.

The conversation focused on the challenges businesses face during this time of technological change and political tension and explored questions including: When should organizations speak out? How should they adopt AI? What should they do about diversity and inclusion? The 2024 Bentley-Gallup Business in Society report, which surveyed 5,835 adults across the U.S., sheds light on how the American public believes businesses can reach their potential to do good in our society. 

The discussion included timely topics covered in the Bentley-Gallup survey such as:

Americans’ Positive View of Business

The 2024 survey found that the majority of Americans (63%) see businesses as having a somewhat positive (41%) or extremely positive (22%) impact on people’s lives. This 63% is unchanged from 2023 but is an eight-percentage-point improvement over 2022, when 55% of Americans reported the same.

Support for Companies Speaking Out is Falling

The public’s support for businesses taking a public stand on current events and social issues continues to go down. In 2024, 38% of Americans say businesses should take a public stance, down from 41% in 2023 and 48% in 2022. The executives agreed that it’s important for companies to understand which issues are important to their stakeholders, including employees and customers, as they decide when and if to speak out. 

DEI Remains Important Despite Some Companies Pulling Back

 In 2024, the backlash among some companies against DEI continues, such as Ford and John Deere announcing they are revising or pulling back on their DEI efforts and programs. But the Bentley-Gallup Business in Society report shows the majority of Americans (59%) believe that companies with a diverse workforce are more profitable and make more innovative products. There was consensus among the dinner participants that DEI remains a priority no matter the climate.

Americans’ Concern about Companies’ Use of Artificial Intelligence

The executives also discussed the impact of AI as it reshapes the professional landscape. The Bentley-Gallup survey found that a strong majority of Americans (77%) say they do not trust businesses to use AI responsibly. However, 57% also say businesses could reduce their concerns about AI by being transparent about how they are using it. Three-quarters of Americans also believe AI will reduce the total number of jobs in the country over the next 10 years.

For more information on the survey, please visit bentley.edu/Gallup.