Social gains from the public relations voice of activist investors: The case of Herbalife and Pershing Square Capital Management

Thompson, Gareth

doi:10.1016/j.pubrev.2018.04.003

Cited by 7 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Activist public relations challenges the status quo by disrupting destructive institutions, such as detrimental corporate practices (cf. Thompson, 2018) or racism (cf. Hon, 2016).…”

Section: Informal Institutional Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

Activist public relations in developing contexts where rules and norms collide: insights from two activist organizations against gender-based violence in Bangladesh

Ali

Saniei

O’Leary

et al. 2022

JCOM

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PurposeThis study aims to broaden the understanding of activist public relations in developing contexts. The power of formal laws and policies in developing contexts diminishes by traditional norms and authorities, and therefore, a great deal of activist public relations efforts is devoted to controlling destructive norms and informal authorities. Activist public relations literature often assumes powerful formal institutions that are capable to control behaviors. The authors challenge this assumption by exploring activist public relations against gender-based violence (GV) in Bangladesh.Design/methodology/approachThis study took an interpretative and social constructionist approach to examine public relations practices of two GV activist organizations in Bangladesh. The data were collected through observation, interviews and document analysis of four campaigns. The data were coded in NVivo.FindingsThe data show that the activist organizations used public relations campaigns for informal institutional work. The campaigns included educating various publics and storytelling to build supporting identities, norms and networks to address GV in Bangladesh.Research limitations/implicationsThe study has been limited to advocacy campaign of the non-governmental organizations.Practical implicationsThe knowledge from this study can be applied to the social development sectors where public relations is used to activate activism. In addition, the public relations practitioners and scholars can find how activists public relations is emerging in developing context.Originality/valueThe findings suggest that activist public relations in developing contexts carry out institutional work and create informal institutions to compensate for the formal institutional voids. In addition, this paper highlights the role of public relations in institutional work, to create and maintain contributory institutions or disrupt disturbing institutions.

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“…Activist public relations challenges the status quo by disrupting destructive institutions, such as detrimental corporate practices (cf. Thompson, 2018) or racism (cf. Hon, 2016).…”

Section: Informal Institutional Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

Activist public relations in developing contexts where rules and norms collide: insights from two activist organizations against gender-based violence in Bangladesh

Ali

Saniei

O’Leary

et al. 2022

JCOM

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Doan and Toledano, 2018) , as well as activist investors, who spend millions of dollars on their lobbying efforts (see e.g. Thompson, 2018) . Scholars have thereby failed to explicitly recognize the kaleidoscope of activist activities and have ignored the vast disparity in resources, professionalism, decision-making processes, and capabilities available between -and even within -individual activist groups or movements.…”

Section: Literature Review: Activist Public Relationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The activism PR literature has commonly referred to activists and activist groups as homogeneous entities (see, for example, Grunig, 1992; Grunig et al, 2002; Holtzhausen, 2007; Smith, 2005). References to activism in extant scholarship encompass international NGOs (see, for example, Reber et al, 2010), context-driven social movements (see, for example, Ciszek, 2017), grassroots groups (see, for example, Weaver, 2010), civic crowdfunding activities (see, for example, Doan and Toledano, 2018), as well as activist investors, who spend millions of dollars on their lobbying efforts (see, for example, Thompson, 2018). Scholars have thereby failed to explicitly recognize the kaleidoscope of activist activities and have ignored the vast disparity in resources, professionalism, decision-making processes, and capabilities available between – and even within – individual activist groups or movements.…”

Section: Literature Review: Activist Public Relationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘PRi special edition: The intersections between public relations and neoliberalism’ – The road to nowhere: Re-examining activists’ role in civil societies

Wolf

2019

Public Relations Inquiry

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The French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu (1977) argued that the presence of critical countervoices and powers is a fundamental element of any genuine democracy. However, in Australia these counter-voices are increasingly marginalized and threatened by controversial laws that would limit the legal standing of conservation groups and the use of overseas donations for advocacy purposes based on the argument that "systematic, well-funded" environmental campaigns are threatening the nation's economic prosperity. Drawing on social movement theory and Bourdieu's theory of practice, this case study details the final months of the Save Beeliar Wetlands campaign in the lead up to the 2017 West Australian state election. The author challenges three common assumptions in the extant PR activism literature: The existence of activists in opposition to organizations and governments, the presence of a 'zone of compromise' between activists and the organizations or governments whose actions they are opposing and the conceptualization of activists as homogenous entity. Evolving into a colorful collective of over 35 local groups, five local councils and thousands of individuals, Beeliar Wetland Defenders successfully created an alternative narrative to the State and Federal Governments' neoliberal agenda. Activists thereby contributed significantly to a change in leadership and the termination of a $1.9billion infrastructure project. This paper argues that activist groups' interventions in public debate perform a valuable societal voice as critical counter-voices in challenging established hierarchies and power relationships. However, in mounting and framing their arguments within the neoliberal framework, activist groups may also inadvertently reinforce this worldview.

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Letters as organizational rhetoric on environmental social and governance (ESG): the case of Larry Fink and BlackRock from 2018 to 2023

Thompson

2024

CCIJ

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PurposeThis paper is intended as an original contribution to researching ESG from a PR perspective, as well as offering a case study of the use of letters as a mode of corporate communication.Design/methodology/approachThe methodology is interdisciplinary but is centred on a critical discourse analysis of the organizational rhetoric on ESG in the annual letters of BlackRock CEO Larry Fink from 2018 to 2023. The article also considers the content of the BlackRock letters alongside the campaign rhetoric deployed by opponents to ESG over the same period.FindingsThe analysis of the letters showed up a difference in tempo and tone between the courteous, collaborative and somewhat “corporate” style of text in the Fink letters and the more urgent and confrontational tone of opponents that adopted a populist line of argumentation against ESG in general and Larry Fink and BlackRock in particular.Practical implicationsWhile advantages can accrue to CEOs and corporations for speaking out on issues, there are also perils awaiting in the contemporary environment for opinion. The findings suggest it is also important to gauge the intensity of cultural and political division in society when speaking out on contentious issues and make a judgement on whether to proceed based on that analysis. Moreover, in countries where the middle ground of public opinion has eroded, ideology and cultural affiliations can prevail instead of openness to argument and counter-argument on topics such as climate change.Originality/valueThe paper presents a fresh case study of a CEO who has been prominent in shaping the discourse on ESG, which has itself become is a matter of contemporary relevance to public relations. The findings offer original insights that are additive to existing guidance and criteria for CEOs deciding to speak out on issues on behalf of their organizations.

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Social gains from the public relations voice of activist investors: The case of Herbalife and Pershing Square Capital Management

Cited by 7 publications

References 18 publications

Activist public relations in developing contexts where rules and norms collide: insights from two activist organizations against gender-based violence in Bangladesh

Activist public relations in developing contexts where rules and norms collide: insights from two activist organizations against gender-based violence in Bangladesh

‘PRi special edition: The intersections between public relations and neoliberalism’ – The road to nowhere: Re-examining activists’ role in civil societies

Letters as organizational rhetoric on environmental social and governance (ESG): the case of Larry Fink and BlackRock from 2018 to 2023

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