A historical analysis of brand activism and its impact on company success

Authors

Katy Sharon, James Madison UniversityFollow

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.

ORCID

https://orcid.org/ 0000-0003-1506-1562

Date of Graduation

5-13-2022

Publish

yes

Degree Name

Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA)

Department

Department of Marketing

Second Advisor

Irvine Clarke III

Third Advisor

Theresa B. Clarke

Abstract

Corporate activism is a growing area of study that has become more important as the political climate becomes increasingly divided. This project evaluates how corporate activism affects company success. Four significant political events were chosen and within each event two to three companies with varying responses were analyzed to determine best practices for organizations looking to engage in corporate activism in the future. Going forward, companies should deliberate with employees and upper-level management to determine the best course of action, respond to the event in a timely manner, acknowledge previous company actions that may contradict its current position, and lastly, avoid staying completely silent on the matter. This study highlights that how a brand responds to social and political change is a crucial factor in deciding whether to give them business, whether to become or remain an employee, and whether to invest in them.