Corporate shaming in media: analysis of the pharmaceutical sector from Novartis and Pfizer cases (2007 - 2014)

Abstract

Remarkably relevant to modern economic society, corporate shaming is decisively influenced by mass media, such as printed newspapers, due to its ability to disclose facts that may affect the reputation of companies and their managers - as in cases of corruption and fraud; violations of human rights, injurious to the environment - and thus cause significant changes in corporate policies. Among the various corporate sectors which are subject to reputational penalties, pharmaceutical industry deserves attention not only because of its importance to society as a whole, but also because in the Brazilian legal system, from the laws 9695/98 and 9677/98, crimes involving counterfeit medications (Article 273, Criminal Code) were classified as heinous. This research aims to: (1) analyze the manifestation, the application and the power of action of corporate shaming, particularly in the pharmaceutical industry, making use, for such, of international legal literature; and (2) demonstrate how corporate shaming can occur in the Brazilian press, basing on an analysis of the publications relating to pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and Novartis in the period of 2007-2014 on Folha de S. Paulo and O Estado de S. Paulo.