accepted.pdf (541.04 kB)
Authenticating brand activism: negotiating the boundaries of free speech to make a change
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-09, 23:11 authored by Olivier Sibai, Laetitia Mimoun, Achilleas BoukisActivist brands commonly engage in controversies to redefine which opinions and ideas are acceptable to express publicly. We conceptualize this practice as free speech boundary work. How can activist brands negotiate the boundaries of free speech to authenticate their activist positioning? By conducting a comparative case study of 18 activist brands, we identify three controversial strategies—creating monstrous hybrids, challenging the establishment, and demonstrating exemplarity—each of them challenging the boundaries of free speech through a distinct mechanism. The results show that whether these strategies authenticate brands’ activism depends on their ability to communicate brands’ moral competency, defined in terms of moral sensitivity, moral vision, and moral integration. This study contributes to the literature on brand activism by proposing an integrative framework that articulates the mechanisms underlying the reformative power of controversial brand activism. Second, we contribute to the literature on brand activism authentication by introducing a competency-oriented view that reveals the heterogeneous and multidimensional nature of activism authenticity and expands our conception of the spectrum of moral territories with which activist brands can engage.
History
Publication status
- Published
File Version
- Accepted version
Journal
Psychology and MarketingISSN
0742-6046Publisher
WileyExternal DOI
Issue
10Volume
38Page range
1651-1669Department affiliated with
- Strategy and Marketing Publications
Full text available
- Yes
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Legacy Posted Date
2021-03-01First Open Access (FOA) Date
2023-03-19First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date
2021-03-01Usage metrics
Categories
No categories selectedKeywords
Licence
Exports
RefWorks
BibTeX
Ref. manager
Endnote
DataCite
NLM
DC