Research Article

Digital Activism: Beyond Collective Actions and Hashtags

Published: N/A

Journal: Academy of Management Perspectives

DOI: 10.5465/amp.2024.0109

Abstract

Academy of Management Perspectives In-Press Exchanges Digital Activism: Beyond Collective Actions and Hashtags Ronei Leonel, Kathleen Rehbein and Michelle Westermann-Behaylo Accepted by Geoffrey Wood Published Online: 18 Nov 2024 https://doi.org/10.5465/amp.2024.0109 Abstract There is an ongoing debate about whether digital media undermines or enhances the ability of stakeholders—in particular, secondary stakeholders—to influence a firm’s policies and practices. One prevailing perspective (Barnett, Henriques & Husted, 2020; Barnett, Henriques & Husted, 2024) is that digital media leads to slacktivism, a token display of support, which impedes the ability of stakeholders to act collectively and makes it easier for firms to dismiss stakeholder claims. Another perspective (Colleoni, Zyglidopoulos & Illia, 2024) argues that even though synchronicity may be difficult to achieve, digital media in the form of hashtags makes it easier for heterogeneous stakeholders to converge around a broader demand for societal change and indirectly pressure firms to change their policies and practices. In this exchange, we expand on Colleoni, Zyglidopoulos, and Illia’s (2024) arguments by encompassing other forms of digital activism beyond generic hashtags. Drawing from the logic of connective action, we argue that two universal pathways—connectivity and velocity—applicable across a wide range of digital activism, are reshaping and enhancing stakeholders’ ability to influence a firm’s social policies and practices.

Faculty Members

  • Kathleen Rehbein - Marquette University
  • Ronei Leonel - Salisbury University
  • Michelle Westermann-Behaylo - University of Amsterdam

Themes

  • Impact of digital activism on corporate policies
  • Connectivity and velocity in stakeholder engagement
  • Digital media and stakeholder influence
  • Slacktivism vs. digital activism
  • Collective action in the digital age

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