Effectiveness of Corporate Sociopolitical Activism on brand-related outcomes: an Italian perspective

Abstract

Corporate Sociopolitical Activism (CSA) refers to firms’ public demonstrations – in terms of actions or statements - over sociopolitical issues, such as LGBTQ+ rights, racial justice, gender equality, immigration, or abortion. Differently from those characterising the CSR landscape, sociopolitical issues are not unanimously shared by the population and yield polarised responses. As noted in academia, the partisan nature of sociopolitical issues suggests that CSA is a riskier form of activism than CSR, with the potential to strengthen or hamper the relationships with customers. After providing a qualitative investigation of CSA - building on existing literature, and illustrating some practical examples as well as a case study – the aim of the dissertation is to offer an Italian perspective on the impact of CSA on branding constructs. In particular, Value congruence has been considered as a starting point to lay out a theory-driven causal model including Attitude toward the Advertisement, Brand Attitude, Brand Image and Brand Equity. Using the Structural Equation Modelling framework, the model has been statistically tested with data collected from 211 questionnaire responses. Empirical results confirmed model fit and causal relationships, showing that Value Congruence was a key antecedent to Attitude toward the Advertisement, which in turn had a significant positive influence on Brand Attitude. Furthermore, Brand Attitude was found to enhance both Brand Image and Brand Equity.