Essays on corporate activism
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2025-08-19
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Perin, Marcelo Gattermann
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In a context of increasing sociopolitical polarization and growing public pressure for corporate engagement, Corporate Activism (CA) has emerged as a strategic behavior in which companies, brands, and their leaders take public stances on controversial issues. Despite its growing prominence, academic understanding of CA remains fragmented, with limited theoretical integration and mixed empirical findings. This thesis addresses these gaps by conceptualizing CA as a strategic, multidimensional, and contextsensitive signal, investigated through five interconnected essays that span theoretical development, meta-analyses, large-scale social media analysis, and scale validation. Essays 1 and 1.1 lay the conceptual foundation, proposing a strategic framework for CA and extending it to B2B settings, drawing on signaling, stakeholder, and institutional theories. Essays 2 and 3 apply meta-analytic methods to test CA effectiveness and identify moderators across signal, signaler, receiver, and signaling environment. Essay 4 analyzes over 36,000 Instagram posts from global brands operating in Brazil, Portugal, and the U.S., demonstrating how cultural factors shape CA strategies and stakeholder responses. Essay 5 develops and validates a multidimensional scale of perceived CA (Messaging, Acting, Controversy, and Consistency) providing a rigorous tool for empirical research and managerial use. Theoretically, this thesis refines and expands signaling theory by integrating individual and cultural perspectives. Methodologically, it employs a multi-method design combining conceptual synthesis, behavioral observation, and psychometric validation. Managerially, it offers practical guidance for developing coherent, credible, and culturally attuned CA strategies across diverse audiences and institutional contexts.