Tim Cook's gay rights advocacy good for Apple's bottom line

Two business school professors recently studied what impact Apple CEO Tim Cook's support for LGBT rights had on the company's bottom line and concluded that it helped.

Cook, who is gay, last year criticized Indiana and Arkansas for approving controversial "religious freedom" laws, saying that they "rationalize injustice."

(Related: Tim Cook calls "religious freedom" laws "dangerous.")

Aaron Chatterji, an associate professor at Duke, and Michael Toffel, a professor at Harvard, wanted to know whether Cook's advocacy had alienated a segment of the population.

"When people were told that the Apple CEO had spoken out against Indiana's religious freedom law, they were more likely to say they intended to buy Apple products in the near future," The Washington Post wrote of the studies. "By contrast, when people were told about one of Tim Cook's bland opinions on management philosophy, it had little effect on purchase plans."

It seems that opponents of marriage equality were unconcerned with Cook's stance.