Publication: La comunicación del activismo de marca en la era de la polarización
Authors
Ferrer Bernal, Elvira
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Escuela Internacional de Doctorado
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Ruiz de Maya, Salvador
Publisher
Universidad de Murcia
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DOI
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info:eu-repo/semantics/doctoralThesis
Description
Abstract
Hoy en día, las marcas ya no se limitan a vender productos, sino que también se posicionan, cada vez más, públicamente sobre cuestiones sociopolíticas controvertidas. Nos referimos a estos esfuerzos empresariales como activismo de marca. En una época de creciente polarización, este activismo se manifiesta, en particular, en la difusión de mensajes y campañas a través de redes sociales para comunicar sus posturas. El activismo, al implicar la toma de posiciones ante temas sensibles, exige un compromiso ideológico dentro del amplio espectro sociopolítico por parte de las marcas, lo que incrementa tanto su potencial estratégico como los riesgos asociados. Por lo tanto, entender la manera en que las organizaciones comunican sus posturas resulta fundamental para configurar los resultados de marketing, al tiempo que contribuye a impulsar beneficios a nivel colectivo. En este sentido, para comprender en su totalidad el activismo de marca, es necesario prestar atención a las características del mensaje, la identidad del emisor, la naturaleza de la causa y la forma en que el público percibe e interpreta dichas comunicaciones.
Si bien investigaciones anteriores han destacado distintos aspectos como el papel de las características del mensaje, la identidad del emisor y las influencias contextuales, la creciente importancia de las redes sociales introduce nuevas complejidades que aún no se comprenden suficientemente. Estas plataformas constituyen entornos interactivos que a menudo magnifican la polarización, lo que las convierte en un escenario fértil para examinar cómo se comunican los mensajes activistas y cómo el público construye, negocia o discute colectivamente su significado. Las redes sociales ofrecen, por tanto, una oportunidad única para evaluar tanto el alcance del activismo de marca como las conversaciones que genera entre públicos heterogéneos.
El objetivo principal de esta tesis doctoral es profundizar en el estudio de la comunicación del activismo de marca en las redes sociales, es decir, comprender cómo se comunica, interpreta y evalúa el activismo de marca en estos entornos para poder identificar y desarrollar acciones de comunicación más eficaces. Para alcanzar este objetivo general, la investigación se estructura en tres estudios complementarios. Cada estudio aborda una dimensión distinta, aunque interrelacionada, de la comunicación del activismo de marca. El primer estudio aborda el discurso público sobre el activismo de marca medioambiental, revelando cómo se difunde el activismo en las redes sociales y cómo se desarrolla la conversación en torno a él. El segundo examina los mecanismos a nivel de mensaje que intervienen en la comunicación, identificando cómo las señales lingüísticas determinan el engagement o la interacción con el activismo de marca social. El tercero explora las diferencias a nivel de audiencia, analizando cómo la ideología y el encuadre del mensaje interactúan para moldear las respuestas a la comunicación del activismo de marca. Para tratar estas cuestiones, la tesis combina el análisis textual de mensajes publicados en redes sociales con experimentos.
En conjunto, esta tesis ofrece una comprensión integrada de cómo las marcas pueden comunicar el activismo de manera más eficaz, en particular en contextos sociopolíticos polarizados, vinculando la configuración del mensaje con las dinámicas discursivas, los procesos de persuasión y las características de la audiencia. Esta tesis aporta contribuciones teóricas al estudio del activismo de marca sobre todo en los ámbitos social y medioambiental, así como conocimientos prácticos para empresas y organizaciones
Nowadays, brands are no longer limited to selling products; they are increasingly taking public positions on controversial sociopolitical issues. We refer to these corporate efforts as brand activism. In a time of growing polarization, this activism is particularly manifested through the dissemination of messages and campaigns on social media to communicate their stances. Activism, by involving the act of taking positions on sensitive issues, requires brands to commit ideologically across the broad sociopolitical spectrum, which increases both their strategic potential and the associated risks. Therefore, understanding how organizations communicate their positions is essential for shaping marketing outcomes while contributing to collective benefits. In this sense, to fully understand brand activism, it is necessary to pay attention to message characteristics, sender identity, the nature of the cause, and how the public perceives and interprets such communications. Although previous work has highlighted different aspects, such as the role of message characteristics, sender identity, and contextual influences, the growing importance of social media introduces new complexities that remain insufficiently understood. These platforms constitute interactive environments that often amplify polarization, making them fertile ground for examining how activist messages are communicated and how the public collectively constructs, negotiates, or debates their meaning. Social media therefore offers a unique opportunity to assess both the reach of brand activism and the conversations it generates among heterogeneous audiences. The main objective of this doctoral thesis is to deepen the study of brand activism communication on social media, namely, to understand how brand activism is communicated, interpreted, and evaluated in these environments in order to identify and develop more effective communication actions. To achieve this overarching aim, the research is structured into three complementary studies. Each study addresses a distinct yet interconnected, dimension of brand activism communication. The first study explores public discourse on environmental brand activism, revealing how activism spreads across social media and how conversations around it unfold. The second examines message-level mechanisms involved in communication, identifying how linguistic cues shape engagement with social brand activism. The third explores audience-level differences, analyzing how ideology and message framing interact to shape responses to brand activism communication. To address these questions, the thesis combines textual analyses of social media content with experiments. Overall, this thesis offers an integrated understanding of how brands can communicate activism more effectively, particularly in polarized sociopolitical contexts, linking message construction with discursive dynamics, persuasion processes, and audience characteristics. This thesis provides theoretical contributions to the study of brand activism, especially in social and environmental domains, as well as practical knowledge for companies and organizations.
Nowadays, brands are no longer limited to selling products; they are increasingly taking public positions on controversial sociopolitical issues. We refer to these corporate efforts as brand activism. In a time of growing polarization, this activism is particularly manifested through the dissemination of messages and campaigns on social media to communicate their stances. Activism, by involving the act of taking positions on sensitive issues, requires brands to commit ideologically across the broad sociopolitical spectrum, which increases both their strategic potential and the associated risks. Therefore, understanding how organizations communicate their positions is essential for shaping marketing outcomes while contributing to collective benefits. In this sense, to fully understand brand activism, it is necessary to pay attention to message characteristics, sender identity, the nature of the cause, and how the public perceives and interprets such communications. Although previous work has highlighted different aspects, such as the role of message characteristics, sender identity, and contextual influences, the growing importance of social media introduces new complexities that remain insufficiently understood. These platforms constitute interactive environments that often amplify polarization, making them fertile ground for examining how activist messages are communicated and how the public collectively constructs, negotiates, or debates their meaning. Social media therefore offers a unique opportunity to assess both the reach of brand activism and the conversations it generates among heterogeneous audiences. The main objective of this doctoral thesis is to deepen the study of brand activism communication on social media, namely, to understand how brand activism is communicated, interpreted, and evaluated in these environments in order to identify and develop more effective communication actions. To achieve this overarching aim, the research is structured into three complementary studies. Each study addresses a distinct yet interconnected, dimension of brand activism communication. The first study explores public discourse on environmental brand activism, revealing how activism spreads across social media and how conversations around it unfold. The second examines message-level mechanisms involved in communication, identifying how linguistic cues shape engagement with social brand activism. The third explores audience-level differences, analyzing how ideology and message framing interact to shape responses to brand activism communication. To address these questions, the thesis combines textual analyses of social media content with experiments. Overall, this thesis offers an integrated understanding of how brands can communicate activism more effectively, particularly in polarized sociopolitical contexts, linking message construction with discursive dynamics, persuasion processes, and audience characteristics. This thesis provides theoretical contributions to the study of brand activism, especially in social and environmental domains, as well as practical knowledge for companies and organizations.
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