Time for Corporate Gerontology: A Systematic Literature Review

Despite the growing relevance of business corporations to the lives of older persons, gerontology has given very little, if any, attention to this field. Further, it seems that both the conceptual and the empirical study of what we firstly term “corporate gerontology”—the rich and diverse ways that corporations interact with, influence, and are influenced by older persons and the aging of society—are quite rare. This systematic literature review was designed and executed to explore and present the current state of academic research in the multidisciplinary realm of aging and the business corporation. Of the 46 papers surveyed, the majority belong to the category in which aging is an independent variable that influences the performance of business corporations. Only 27% belong to the second category, which explores how the conduct of corporations can influence various aspects of aging. In light of the retreat of the welfare state and the rising neoliberal system, the lack of adequate governmental responses to aging has paved the way for profit-guided business corporations to enter the field. Their conduct should not be overlooked, and in establishing a new theoretical framework of corporate gerontology, we hope it will draw future research and public attention and raise awareness of this phenomenon.