Theme: Social Issue Activism In & Around Organizations: Current Research and a Framework
Speaker: Forrest S. Briscoe，The Pennsylvania State University
When: 9:00- 10:15 am, March 1, 2023 (China Time, UTC+8) 
Language: English
Where: Zoom

Abstract

Across the globe, we are seeing rising social issue activism, as well as changes in the tactics, tools, and trajectories of activists. A growing body of research is examining the relationships between this social activism and business organizations. This talk will provide an overview of several current studies, and suggest an emerging framework to help integrate research on how companies are influenced by three types of social issue activism: (1) activism aimed at changing business organizations; (2) activism aimed at societal change that is not targeting businesses; and (3) activism inside businesses aimed at using these organization as platforms to promote societal change. Although these three types of activism overlap to some extent, there appear to be differences in their causes and consequences.

Speaker’s bio

Forrest Briscoe is Professor of Management & Organization, and Frank & Mary Jean Smeal Research Fellow, in the Smeal College of Business at The Pennsylvania State University. His degrees are from San Diego High School, Harvard, and MIT Sloan. Forrest does research in the areas of organization theory and strategic management, including on the topics of institutional change, social movements, moral markets, interorganizational diffusion, social networks, careers, and inequality. This research has been published in journals such as Administrative Science Quarterly (ASQ), American Sociological Review, Industrial & Labor Relations Review, and Strategic Management Journal—and covered in media outlets from Financial Times to Forbes. Forrest also served as an Associate Editor for ASQ and Academy of Management Annals, and he is the Chair-Elect for the Organization & Management Theory (OMT) Division of the Academy of Management.