Brand Activism: Helping or Harming the 2SLGBTQ+ Community?

Polishchuk, Erika DT

Brand Activism: Helping or Harming the 2SLGBTQ+ Community?

dc.contributor.advisor	Bourassa, Maureen
dc.contributor.committeeMember	Williams, David
dc.contributor.committeeMember	Loewen Walker, Rachel
dc.contributor.committeeMember	Slobodzian, Adam
dc.creator	Polishchuk, Erika DT
dc.creator.orcid	0009-0002-3306-2067
dc.date.accessioned	2024-09-11T16:01:27Z
dc.date.available	2024-09-11T16:01:27Z
dc.date.copyright	2024
dc.date.created	2024-10
dc.date.issued	2024-09-11
dc.date.submitted	October 2024
dc.date.updated	2024-09-11T16:01:27Z
dc.description.abstract	As younger generations demand corporate responsibility and sociopolitical issues are at the forefront of consumers’ minds, companies are increasingly speaking out in support of sociopolitical issues and marginalized groups. Despite modern consumers demanding that companies engage in activism, they are highly critical of how companies choose to engage and whether their actions seem genuine. In line with consumer demands, much of the current literature on brand activism focuses on drivers of authenticity and consumer responses to activism based on varying consumer and activism characteristics. Among all the variables that researchers have explored, scholars have yet to consult with consumers who belong to the marginalized groups at the heart of modern sociopolitical issues and brand activism. This study used interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) and semi-structured interviews with 2SLGBTQ+ individuals to explore perceptions of helpfulness in pride-related activism. The major findings show that companies attempting to advocate for the 2SLGBTQ+ may operate at one of four levels of activism: (1) Unintentionally Harmful Activism, (2) Public-Focused Activism, (3) Community-Focused Activism, and (4) Internally-Focused Activism . Unsuccessful activism attempts may actually cause harm to the queer community, while Internally-Focused Activism has the most potential to help the community. This study adds to brand activism literature by demonstrating that brand activism can be perceived as authentic even when it is not helpful to the community, and conversely, activism can be perceived as helpful to the community even when it may not be authentic.
dc.format.mimetype	application/pdf
dc.identifier.uri	https://hdl.handle.net/10388/15997
dc.language.iso	en
dc.subject	Brand activism
dc.title	Brand Activism: Helping or Harming the 2SLGBTQ+ Community?
dc.type	Thesis
dc.type.material	text
thesis.degree.department	Edwards School of Business
thesis.degree.discipline	Marketing
thesis.degree.grantor	University of Saskatchewan
thesis.degree.level	Masters
thesis.degree.name	Master of Science (M.Sc.)