The pharmaceutical and the agro-chemical sectors have been plagued with scandals about corporations falsifying science and influencing professionals and policymakers. These scandals are not simply anecdotes, but are symptoms of systematic efforts and strategies routinely deployed to shape social and informational structures in ways that benefit commercial interests.
Building on a political economy tradition of analyzing the nature of corporate power, it is possible to show that large corporations in specific sectors often spend more resources influencing social structures than in production or innovation. We call “ghost-management” the systematic behind-the-scenes efforts and strategies deployed by corporations to shape knowledge, ideas and narratives about specific products. While academic literature has explored how firms produce knowledge and information, our research will analyze how firms also spend vast resources to produce ignorance or uncertainty through the dissemination of false, misleading, or contradictory information — “fake news” in current parlance.
Our central research question is: “What dynamics and systematic strategies of influence have been central to the commercial success of large corporations in pharmaceuticals and agro-chemicals?”
Building on multiple case studies of ghost-management, this project will develop a theoretical framework by analyzing case studies related to pharmaceuticals and agro-chemicals. The research project will be developed in four parts:
- systematic identification and categorization of ghost-management strategies;
- systematic mapping of actors, stakeholders and resources used for ghost-management;
- testing the framework by using it as the basis of new investigations; and
- knowledge dissemination about the implications for Canada.
By systematically reviewing evidence on the strategies used by dominant businesses, it is possible to generate a public and policy framework to better reveal and, potentially, deter (through more effective policy and regulations) the problematic practices of disinformation and unethical corporate behavior.