In the age of accountability, companies are asked to communicate the social impact of their operations. Assessed by a nonprofit organization, B Lab, the B Impact Assessment (BIA) score is a rapidly growing third‐party evaluation for for‐profit companies. Using the publicly available 4061 company data provided by B Lab that spans across from 2007 to early 2020, this study provides the current state of the certified and decertified B Corps. The results show that the majority of the companies revisited the BIA every 2 years to recertify. Companies were likely to recertify especially after the third recertification, suggesting that earning the B Corp status can become routinized. The current study shows that the average attrition rate over the entire history of B Corps is 23.7% and the majority of the decertified operate with less than 10 employees. The currently certified companies had a higher overall BIA score than the decertified companies. However, other differences were not apparent.
PurposeGiven the profound impact of social media on civic activism, as demonstrated by the #BlackLivesMatter and #MeToo movements, the current study aimed to examine the factors that influence the public to engage in civic activism on social media platforms.Design/methodology/approachThis study used the responses from 4,316 social media users who participated in the 2018 American Trends Survey (Wave 35) conducted by Pew Research Center. The dataset was analyzed using hierarchical regression.FindingsThe results suggest that respondents who were younger, female, White and liberal were more likely to participate in activism-related behaviors, such as using hashtags, changing profile pictures and participating in groups with shared interests in political and social issues. Respondents' engagement in online civic activism increased particularly when they had a strong motive for expressing and sharing their opinions. In contrast, external online political efficacy – the belief that social media influences policymaking and decision makers – was not significantly associated with activism engagement on social media.Originality/valueThis study identified key demographic characteristics of social media users who participate in online civic activism. In addition, the findings extend previous lines of inquiry by examining and assessing the impact of external online political efficacy and opinion expression motive. We conclude that individuals engage in civic activism on social media mainly because they find it important to express views on political and social issues and to find others who share these views, as opposed to thinking that social media can be used to exert influence on policy decisions.
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