In an increasingly polarized world, corporations in Germany are faced with the challenge of how to respond to the growing influence of populist movements. This study analyses how listed companies perceive these developments and to what extent they react to them by taking on the role of a political actor. To answer this question, we conducted a representative online survey of 160 corporations from the leading indices of the German stock exchange Deutsche Boerse (DAX40, MDAX, SDAX). The results of the study are representative of large German stocklisted companies with an international ownership structure, global supply chains, transnational customer relationships, and an ethnically and culturally diverse workforce.