The Demotivating Effects of Communicating a Social-Political Stance: Field Experimental Evidence from an Online Labor Market Platform

Burbano, Vanessa

doi:10.1287/mnsc.2019.3562

Cited by 76 publications

(58 citation statements)

References 68 publications

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“…Second, while social CSR initiatives have the potential to create a favorable image among subsets of stakeholders, these initiatives are perceived as being less focused, less verifiable, and thus more prone to agency costs (Mishra and Modi 2016). Moreover, recent research shows that consumers and shareholders do not always agree with the direction of social CSR, with some viewing such actions as an alienating form of activism (Burbano 2021;Hydock, Paharia, and Blair 2020;Yashoda, Warren, and Beck 2020). Therefore: H 3 : Having an environmental rather than a social focus in a CSR initiative enhances the positive effect of corrective and compensating CSR initiatives and mitigates the negative effect of cultivating CSR initiatives.…”

Section: The Moderating Effect Of Firms' Csr Reputation and Csr Focus...mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on Brand Sales: An Accountability Perspective

Nickerson¹,

Lowe²,

Pattabhiramaiah³

et al. 2021

Journal of Marketing

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Consumers are increasingly mindful of corporate social responsibility (CSR) when making purchase and consumption decisions, but evidence of the impact of CSR initiatives on actual purchase decisions is lacking. This article introduces a novel brand accountability–based framework of consumer response to CSR initiatives, which categorizes CSR efforts as “corrective,” “compensating,” or “cultivating goodwill.” Leveraging a database of CSR press releases by leading consumer packaged goods brands, the authors examine the effect of the different types of CSR announcements on brand sales. The findings suggest that CSR initiatives that genuinely aim to reduce a brand's negative externalities (“corrective” and “compensating”) lift sales, whereas CSR actions focused on philanthropy (“cultivating goodwill”) can hurt sales. The authors propose two moderators—CSR reputation and CSR focus on environmental or social causes—and a mechanism for these effects, which they examine under controlled experimental settings. The experimental results show that, conditional on CSR reputation, consumers perceive varying degrees of sincerity in the different CSR types and that sincerity mediates the effect of CSR type on purchase intentions. Overall, the results suggest that consumers are more inclined to reward firms that directly reduce the negative by-products of their own business practices than to be impressed by public goodwill gestures.

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Section: The Moderating Effect Of Firms' Csr Reputation and Csr Focus...mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on Brand Sales: An Accountability Perspective

Nickerson¹,

Lowe²,

Pattabhiramaiah³

et al. 2021

Journal of Marketing

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“…All non-theoretical works build on samples derived from the US-market. Although Burbano (2021) does include responses from participants outside the USA, the author is addressing a US-oriented political debate in connection with a US-based company. Moreover, the publication does not account for any cultural differences between the respondents in the analysis.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They show that both are positively influenced by political alignment (Brown et al , 2020; Mkrtchyan et al , 2020). These conceptions, however, are opposed by Burbano (2021), who found a demotivating effect of CEO activism that opposed the viewpoints of their company’s workforce but no motivating effect of CEO activism in favour of these statements.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Since then, an expanding number of scholars have analysed this issue providing many valuable insights from a variety of disciplines (e.g. Bedendo and Siming, 2020; Branicki et al , 2021; Burbano, 2021; Hambrick and Wowak, 2021). These findings constitute a profound basis in the research that is still of “fertile nature” (Chatterji and Toffel, 2019, p. 180).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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CEO activism. What do we know? What don’t we know? A systematic literature review

Rumstadt

Kanbach

2022

SBR

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Purpose Chief Executive Officer (CEO) activism, i.e. executives, publicly weighing in on sociopolitical debates, is an area of increasing interest in academia and business. This young research field provides valuable insights, but it still represents a scattered discussion in a variety of disciplines. Thus, this paper aims to present a guiding framework, integrate current knowledge, aggregate published findings and outline avenues for future research. Design/methodology/approach The authors conducted a systematic literature review building on a sample of 36 publications. In consequence, 1,146 lead themes were derived and studied in an in-depth qualitative analysis by deploying a pattern-inducing method. Findings Research on CEO activism can be placed on a time-oriented logic, giving insights into the realisation of activism, stakeholder reactions, moderators and perception effects. These four aggregate dimensions can be explained by 15 second-order themes and 48 more detailed first-order themes. Practical implications Considering the risks and benefits of CEO activism, top executives and communication professionals should be aware of its implications. This paper provides an integrated view of the different mechanisms and potential effects of CEO activism. Thereby, it proposes communicative planning from activism’s realisation to its perceptual results. Originality/value The study provides a holistic view of CEO activism as a starting point for further discussion. To the latest of the authors’ knowledge, this work is the first integrated conceptualisation of the discussion of CEO activism. The proposed avenues for future research stem from a detailed examination of published knowledge.

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“…Recent research suggests that strategic leaders engaging in social activism could be in a no-win situation. Burbano (in press) found that an employer taking a stance on a social issue demotivates employees who disagree with the stance and has no motivating effect on employees who agree with the stance. Alternatively, Chatterjee and Toffel (2018) discuss “the risk of silence, which may be viewed as a sign of tacit approval.” This risk is reflected in recent accusations from activists that silence on racial inequality, for example, amounts to complicity in it.…”

Section: Strategic Leadership Research On Activism and Social Issuesmentioning

confidence: 98%

From Strategic Leaders to Societal Leaders: On the Expanding Social Role of Executives and Boards

Krause

Miller²

2020

Journal of Management

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Scholarship on strategic leadership and governance has long operated under the assumption that strategic leaders’ influence and purview are predominantly constrained by organizational boundaries. Recent events and social movements have called this limited view of strategic leadership into question, however. In this editorial commentary, we explore the emerging trend of strategic leaders becoming—in both their own and stakeholders’ perceptions—societal leaders advancing social change inside and outside their organizations. We examine the research implications of taking a broader view of these leaders’ responsibility, one that reflects evolving social expectations.

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The Demotivating Effects of Communicating a Social-Political Stance: Field Experimental Evidence from an Online Labor Market Platform

Cited by 76 publications

References 68 publications

The Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on Brand Sales: An Accountability Perspective

The Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on Brand Sales: An Accountability Perspective

CEO activism. What do we know? What don’t we know? A systematic literature review

From Strategic Leaders to Societal Leaders: On the Expanding Social Role of Executives and Boards

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