In the last 10-15 years, there has been an increase in executive leaders of major organizations taking a public stance on social and political issues (Dodd, Supa, 2014, p. 1). Depending on how the company approaches taking their stance can also determine if the public perceives their efforts as authentic. There is a lot of strategy that is required for effective corporate social advocacy (CSA) and different aspects organizations need to take into account before starting a conversation.
The Basics of Corporate Social Advocacy: When Companies Speak Up and Out
An article written by Melissa Dodd and Dustin Supa states, “Public declarations surrounding social-political issues may be proactive organizational initiatives with planned communication or unintentionally spoken by organizational leadership, prompting reactive communication” (Dodd, Supa, 2014, p. 2).
Whichever the scenario is, consumers know that this organization holds a specific set of values. Some examples that are most well-known include…
- The Nationals Rifle Association making a public list of celebrities and organizations that support gun control such as Ben & Jerry’s.
- Chick-fil-A publicly opposing gay marriage.
- Starbucks and Amazon publicly supporting gay marriage.
- Papa John’s and Applebee’s reputation impacted after executives made remarks that opposed Obamacare.
Regardless if the outcome was negative or positive, these organizations still made the choice to take their stance and show that is how their views aligned (Dodd, Supa, 2014, p. 1-2). CSA can also be presented in a variety of ways.
An article titled Should Businesses Take a Stand? Effects of Percieved Psychological Distance on Consumers’ Expectation and Evaluation of Corporate Social Advocays says, “CSA can include corporate communications such as formal corporate statements released either internally or externally, interviews or unscripted statements by business leaders, and cause-related advertising, as well as corporate actions such as publicized operation decisions or donations to advocacy organizations with clear affiliations on certain issues” (Xu, et al., 2022, p.840-841).
Making these stances can either hurt the company, or help them. The opinions and stances that advance society can also take organizations to the next level (Yang, Shen, 2017, p.145). It takes strategy and authenticity for these stances to benefit an organization the way they intend.
Risk and Reward: Things Can Get Complicated
Taking a definitive stance as an organization can garner support, but depending on the stance, it can create complete detachment from stakeholders. When a company confirms that it shares similar values to a consumer, they can also create emotional attachment and increased brand trust (Park, 2022, p. 822). Organizations that have controversial stances on issues and still choose to make a public statement put themselves at risk. Consumers are more likely to create and maintain relationships with organizations that have an authentic commitment to building a better society (Park, 2022, p.823).
Speak Up (But With Intention!)
Silence isn’t the safe play in this day and age. Organizations need to work to find the sweet spot between supporting their values and protecting their relationships with their stakeholders. Authenticity is the key to effective CSA. When done correctly an organization can build loyalty, but done wrong can cause intense backlash and repercussions.
Keywords:
Corporate social advocacy, risk, reward, complicated/complication, intention
References:
Dodd, Melissa D., and Dustin W. Supa. “Conceptualizing and Measuring “Corporate Social Advocacy” Communication: Examining the Impact on Corporate Financial Performance.” Public Relations Journal, vol. 8, no. 3, 2014.
Park, Keonyoung. “The Mediating Role of Skepticism: How Corporate Social Advocacy Builds Quality Relationships with Publics.” Journal of Marketing Communications, 22 Aug. 2021, pp. 1–19, https://doi.org/10.1080/13527266.2021.1964580.
Xu, Hao, et al. “Should Businesses Take a Stand? Effects of Perceived Psychological Distance on Consumers’ Expectation and Evaluation of Corporate Social Advocacy.” Journal of Marketing Communications, vol. 28, no. 8, 2022.
Yang, F., & Shen, F. (2017). Effects of Web Interactivity: A Meta-Analysis. Communication Research, 45(5), 635–658. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093650217700748