Can authenticity be built? Looking for factors that influence authentic brand activism

Authors

  • Antonella Cammarota University of Sannio
  • Francesca Avallone Department of Law, Economics, Management and Quantitative Methods (DEMM), University of Sannio, Benevento, Italy
  • Vittoria Marino Department of Law, Economics, Management and Quantitative Methods (DEMM), University of Sannio, Benevento, Italy
  • Riccardo Resciniti Department of Law, Economics, Management and Quantitative Methods (DEMM), University of Sannio, Benevento, Italy

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7433/s123.2024.02

Keywords:

Brand Activism, Authenticity, Consumer Perception, Social Media, Socio-political issues

Abstract

Framing of the research. The study focuses on brand activism, a phenomenon attracting increasing attention from researchers and practitioners. The literature on brand activism has developed over the last five years and still has many gaps that should be filled.

Purpose of the paper. This research analyses consumers’ perceptions of Ben & Jerry’s to understand whether it is perceived as authentic and, if so, to identify feasible factors contributing to consumer-perceived authenticity of brand activism.

Methodology. We analysed the users’ comments on the American Instagram profile of Ben & Jerry’s by conducting a text network analysis to generate topical clusters (topic modelling) and identify the most influential keywords. Then, to address the research questions, sentiment analysis of users’ comments has been employed.

Results. Topic modelling resulting from the analysis shows some exciting word clusters that allow hypothesising how activism is a critical element of Ben & Jerry’s consumers’evaluation, becoming a topic of discussion at the same level as the brand’s products. In addition, sentiment analysis contributes important insights, confirming the crucial relevance of authenticity in brand activism strategies.

Research limitations. The study uses user comments on posts, considering them as declarations, not actions; hence, we need to determine if consumer actions will be consistent with boycott declarations.

Managerial implications. This study contributes to understanding whether the challenging condition of authenticity exists in a brand known to be an activist. Additionally, we identify potential elements that contributed to the perceived authenticity of brand activism based on the obtained results and the analysis of the company’s official website. Knowing consumers’ sentiments is essential for researchers and practitioners, as it is the basis for understanding how consumers perceive and evaluate brand activism.

The originality of the paper. Brand activism is a hot topic in literature. Insights from consumers’ perceptions are crucial to explain this phenomenon, useful in customer profiling and brand management, and address future research. Furthermore, it is essential to understand which factors can contribute to generating consumer-perceived authenticity in brand activism campaigns.

References

AHMAD F., GUZMÁN F., KIDWELL B. (2022), “Effective messaging strategies to increase brand love for sociopolitical activist brands”, Journal of Business Research, n. 151, pp. 609-622.

AMA (2021), “Mitigation in Marketing: Call for Papers for a Special Issue of the Journal of Marketing Research,” (accessed 13 August, 2021), https://www.ama.org/mitigation-in-marketing-call-forpapers-for-a-special-issue-of-the-journal-of-marketing-research/

ANDERSEN, S.E., & JOHANSEN, T.S. (2023), “The activist brand and the transformational power of resistance: towards a narrative conceptual framework”, Journal of Brand Management, pp. 1-13.

ATANGA B.A., XUE X., MATTILA A.S. (2022), “The impact of Corporate Sociopolitical Activism (CSA) on brand attitude”, International Journal of Hospitality Management, vol. 107, 103290.

BALLANTYNE R., WARREN A., NOBBS K. (2006), “The evolution of brand choice”, Journal of Brand Management, n. 13, pp. 339-352.

BHAGWAT Y., WARREN N.L., BECK J.T., WATSON IV G.F. (2020), “Corporate sociopolitical activism and firm value”, Journal of Marketing, vol. 84, n. 5, pp. 1-21.

BHARGAVA V.R., BEDI S. (2022), “Brand as promise”, Journal of Business Ethics, , n. 179, pp. 919-936.

BRANDÃO A., POPOLI P. (2021), “I’m hatin’ it”! Negative consumer-brand relationships in online anti-brand communities”, European Journal of Marketing, vol. 56, n. 2, pp. 622-650.

BRUHN M., SCHOENMÜLLER V., SCHÄFER D., HEINRICH D. (2012), “Brand authenticity: towards a deeper understanding of its conceptualization and measurement”, NA - Advances in Consumer Research, n. 40, pp. 567-576.

CAMMAROTA A., D’ARCO M., MARINO V., RESCINITI R. (2022), “The “Authenticity” in the Consumer Response to Brand Activism. 21st International Marketing Trends Conference, 20-22 January 2022, Rome. ISBN 978-2-490372-14-0.

CAMMAROTA A., MARINO V., RESCINITI R. (2021), “Consumer Response to Brand Activism: A Multiple Case Study Analysis. XVIII SIM Conference, 14-15 October 2021, Ancona. ISBN 978-88-943918-6-2

CAMMAROTA A., MARINO V., RESCINITI R. (2022), “A bibliometric analysis of a risky marketing strategy: brand activism. XIX SIM Conference, 20th-21st October 2022, Salerno. ISBN 978-88-943918-8-6

CHANDY R.K., VENKATARAMANI JOHAR G., MOORMAN C., ROBERTS J.H. (2021), “Better Marketing for a Better World”, Journal of Marketing, vol. 85, n. 3, pp. 1-9.

CHATMAN J. A. (1991), “Matching people and organizations: Selection and socialization in public accounting firms”, Administrative Science Quarterly, vol. 36, n. 3, pp. 459-484.

CISZEK, E., & LOGAN, N. (2018). Challenging the dialogic promise: How Ben & Jerry’s support for Black Lives Matter fosters dissensus on social media. Journal of Public Relations Research, 30(3), 115-127.

D’ARCO M., LO PRESTI L., MARINO V., RESCINITI R. (2019), “Embracing AI and big data in customer journey mapping: from literature review to a theoretical framework”, Innovative Marketing, vol. 15, n. 4, pp. 102-115.

DEN HOND F., DE BAKKER F.G.A. (2007), “Ideologically motivated activism: how activist groups influence corporate social change activities”, Academy of Management Review, vol. 32, n. 3, pp. 901-24.

DODD M.D., SUPA D.W. (2014), “Conceptualizing and measuring “corporate social advocacy” communication: examining the impact on corporate financial performance”, Public Relations Journal, vol. 8, n. 3).

EILERT M., NAPPIER CHERUP A. (2020), “The activist company: examining a company’s pursuit of societal change through corporate activism using an institutional theoretical lens”, Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, vol. 39, n. 4, pp. 461-476.

EYADA B. (2020), “Brand activism, the relation and impact on consumer perception: A case study on Nike advertising”, International Journal of Marketing Studies, vol. 12, n. 4, pp. 30-42.

FLIGHT R.L., COKER K. (2022), “Birds of a feather: brand attachment through the lens of consumer political ideologies”, Journal of Product & Brand Management, vol. 31, n. 5, pp. 731-743.

GELLES D. (2015), “How the social mission of Ben & Jerry’s survived being gobbled up. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/23/business/how-ben-jerrys-social-mission-survived-being-gobbled-up.htm

HAMBRICK, D. C., & WOWAK, A. J. (2021). CEO sociopolitical activism: A stakeholder alignment model. Academy of Management Review, 46(1), 33-59.

HASKI-LEVENTHAL D., KORSCHUN D., LINNENLUECKE M. (2021), “Sustainability is no Longer Enough: How Corporations are Becoming the New Climate Activists”, California Review Management.

HESSE A., NIEDERLE F., SCHÖN L., STAUTZ D. (2021), “Consumer responses to brand communications involving COVID-19”, Journal of Marketing Management, vol. 37, n. 17-18, pp. 1783-1814.

HOME | BEN & JERRY’S. (2017). https://www.benjerry.com. https://www.benjerry.com/

HOPPNER J.J., VADAKKEPATT G.G. (2019), “Examining moral authority in the marketplace: a conceptualization and framework”, Journal of Business Research, n. 95, pp. 417-427

HYDOCK C., PAHARIA N., BLAIR S. (2020), “Should your brand pick a side? how market share determines the impact of corporate political advocacy”, Journal of Marketing Research, vol. 57, n. 6, pp. 1135-1151.

JOHNSON C.D., BAUER B.C., CARLSON B.D. (2022), “Constituency building: determining consumers’ willingness to participate in corporate political activities”, International Journal of Research in Marketing, vol. 39, n. 1, pp. 42-57.

KEY T.M., KEEL A.L., CZAPLEWSKI A.J., OLSON E.M. (2021), “Brand activism change agents: strategic storytelling for impact and authenticity”, Journal of Strategic Marketing, pp. 1-17.

KLOSTERMANN J., HYDOCK C., DECKER R. (2022), “The effect of corporate political advocacy on brand perception: an event study analysis”, Journal of Product & Brand Management, vol. 31, n. 5, pp. 780-797.

KOCH C.H. (2020), “Brands as activists: The Oatly case”, Journal of Brand Management, n. 275, pp. 593-606.

KORSCHUN D. (2021), “Brand Activism Is Here to Stay: Here’s Why”, NIM Marketing Intelligence Review, vol. 13, n. 2, pp. 11-17.

KORSCHUN D., MARTIN K. D., VADAKKEPATT G. (2020), “Marketing’s role in understanding political activity”, Journal of public policy & marketing, vol. 39, n. 4, pp. 378-387.

KOTLER P., PFOERTSCH W., SPONHOLZ U. (2021), “H2H marketing: putting trust add brand in strategic management focus”, Academy of Strategic Management Journal, vol. 20, n. 2S).

MAKS-SOLOMON, C., & DREWRY, J. M. (2021). Why do corporations engage in LGBT rights activism? LGBT employee groups as internal pressure groups. Business and Politics, 23(1), 124-152.

MARINO V., RESCINITI R., D’ARCO M. (2020), “It’s all about marketing! Exploring the social perception in the Italian context”, Italian Journal of Marketing, 2020, pp. 7-23.

MENDE M., SCOTT M.L. (2021), “May the Force Be with You: Expanding the Scope for Marketing Research as a Force for Good in a Sustainable World”, Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, vol. 40, n. 2, pp. 116-125.

MENON G., KIESLER T. (2020), “When a Brand Stands up for Racial Justice, Do People Buy It?”, Harvard Business Review.

MIRZAEI A., WILKIE D.C., SIUKI H. (2022), “Woke brand activism authenticity or the lack of it”, Journal of Business Research, n. 139, pp. 1-12.

MIRZAEI, A., WILKIE, D. C., & SIUKI, H. (2022). Woke brand activism authenticity or the lack of it. Journal of Business Research, 139, 1-12.

MOORMAN C. (2020), “Commentary: brand activism in a political world”, Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, vol. 39, n. 4, pp. 388-392.

MORAN Y., BADEN C., KLIGLER-VILENCHIK N. (2021), “Political Polarization on the Digital Sphere: A Cross-Platform, Over-Time Analysis of Interactional, Positional, and Affective Polarization on Social Media”, Political Communication, vol. 38, n. 1-2, pp. 98-139

MOREANO G. (2019), “Starbucks’ refugee hiring program to counter Trump is hurting brand and sales, Credit Suisse says. CNBC Markets

MUKHERJEE S., ALTHUIZEN N. (2020), “Brand activism: does courting controversy help or hurt a brand?”, International Journal of Research in Marketing, vol. 37, n. 4, pp. 772-788.

MUKHERJEE, S., & ALTHUIZEN, N. (2020). Brand activism: Does courting controversy help or hurt a brand?. International journal of research in marketing, 37(4), 772-788.

NEUREITER M., BhatTacharya C.B. (2021), “Why do boycotts sometimes increase sales? Consumer activism in the age of political polarization”, Business Horizons, n. 64, pp. 611-620.

NGUYEN H.N., NGUYEN T.B. (2021), “Sense of online betrayal, brand hate, and outrage customers’anti-brand activism”, Innovative Marketing, vol. 17, n. 4, pp. 75.

PARANYUSHKIN, D. (2019, MAY). InfraNodus: Generating insight using text network analysis. In The world wide web conference (pp. 3584-3589).

PÖYRY E., LAAKSONEN S.M. (2022), “Opposing brand activism: triggers and strategies of consumers’ antibrand actions”, European Journal of Marketing, vol. 56, n. 13, pp. 261-284.

RADANIELINA HITA M.L., GRÉGOIRE Y. (2023), “Marketing to Prevent Radicalization: A First Attempt at Delimiting the Field”, Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, vol. 42, n. 1, pp. 1-10.

REED II A., FOREHAND M.R., PUNTONI S., WARLOP L. (2012), “Identity-based consumer behavior”, International Journal of Research in Marketing, vol. 29, n. 4, pp. 310-321.

RESCINITI R., 2020. 2020: a new Journal for a true Marketing”, Italian Journal of Marketing, pp. 1-2.

RUST R.T., RAND W., HUANG M.H., STEPHEN A.T., BROOKS G., CHABUK T. (2021), “Real-Time Brand Reputation Tracking Using Social Media”, Journal of Marketing, vol. 85, n. 4, pp. 21-43.

SARKAR C., KOTLER P. (2018), “Brand Activism: From Purpose to Action. IDEA BITE PRESS.

SCHERER A.G., PALAZZO G. (2011), “The New Political Role of Business in a Globalized World: A Review of a New Perspective on CSR and Its Implications for the Firm, Governance, and Democracy”, Journal of Management Studies, vol. 48, n. 4, pp. 899-931.

SCHMIDT H.J., IND N., GUZMAN F., KENNEDY E. (2022), “Sociopolitical activist brands”, Journal of Product & Brand Management, vol. 31, n. 1, pp. 40-55.

SHIVAKANTH S., NAGENDRA B.V., KERENA A. (2019), “Brand activism and millennials: an empirical investigation into the perception of millennials towards brand activism”, Problems and Perspectives in Management, vol. 17, n. 4, pp. 163-175.

SHOENBERGER H., KIM E.A., SUN Y. (2021), “Advertising during COVID-19: exploring perceived brand message authenticity and potential psychological reactance”, Journal of Advertising, 50, n. 3, pp. 253-261.

SIBAI O., MIMOUN L., BOUKIS A. (2021), “Authenticating brand activism: Negotiating the boundaries of free speech to make a change”, Psychology & Marketing, vol. 38, n. 10, pp. 1651-1669

SMALDONE S., CAMMAROTA A., MARINO V., RESCINITI R. (2023), Extra topping never hurts: exploring consumers’ perceptions of brand activism campaigns via textual big data analysis. 22nd International Marketing Trends Conference, 2023, Paris. ISBN 978-2-490372-16-4.

SOBANDE F. (2019), “Woke-washing: “intersectional” femvertising and branding “woke” bravery”, European Journal of Marketing, vol. 54, n. 11, pp. 2723-2745.

VILLAGRA N., MONFORT A., MÉNDEZ-SUÁREZ M. (2021), “Firm value impact of corporate activism: Facebook and the stop hate for profit campaign”, Journal of Business Research, n. 137, pp. 319-326.

VILLAGRA, N., SANCHEZ, J., CLEMENTE, J., & PINTADO, T. (2022). Deconstructing corporate activism: A consumer approach. Journal of Management & Organization, 1-15.

VREDENBURG J., KAPITAN S., SPRY A., KEMPER J.A. (2020), “Brands taking a stand: authentic brand activism or woke washing?”, Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, vol. 39, n. 4, pp. 444-460.

WARREN N.L. (2021), “Boycott or Buycott: The Aftermath of Corporate Activism”, NIM Marketing Intelligence Review, vol. 13, n. 2, pp. 32-37.

WEBER T.J., JOIREMAN J., SPROTT D.E., HYDOCK C. (2023), “Differential Response to Corporate Political Advocacy and Corporate Social Responsibility: Implications for Political Polarization and Radicalization”, Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, vol. 42, n. 1, pp. 74-93.

WETTSTEIN F., BAUR D. (2016), ““Why should we care about marriage equality?” - Political advocacy as a part of corporate responsibility”, Journal of Business Ethics, vol. 138, n. 2, pp. 199-213.

XU S., XIONG Y. (2020), “Setting socially mediated engagement parameters: A topic modeling and text analytic approach to examining polarized discourses on Gillette’s campaign”, Public Relations Review, vol. 46, n. 5, pp. 101959.

YANG J., BATTOCCHIO A.F. (2021), “Effects of transparent brand communication on perceived brand authenticity and consumer responses”, Journal of Product & Brand Management, vol. 30, n. 8, pp. 1176-1193.

ZHOU Z., DONG C. (2022), “Matching words with actions: understanding the effects of CSA stance-action consistency on negative consumer responses”, Corporate Communication: An International Journal, vol. 27, n. 1, pp. 167-187

ZHOU, T., LU, Y., & WANG, B. (2016). Examining online consumers’ initial trust building from an elaboration likelihood model perspective. Information Systems Frontiers, 18, 265-275.

Downloads

Published

2024-04-30