Abstract
We examine a previously unexplored strategic driver of sociopolitical activism among firms: their history of reputational controversy. We explore whether and how past reputational controversies influence a firm’s propensity to engage in activism by analyzing public communications from Fortune 500 companies during two periods when many firms and their leaders engaged in sociopolitical activism: the peak of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020 and the peak of the Stop Asian Hate movement in 2021. Our results reveal that firms that experienced more past controversy were more likely to make statements that publicly align with the Black Lives Matter and Stop Asian Hate movements. Furthermore, this relationship was tempered by a firm’s stronger standing among key stakeholder groups (customers, employees, and investors). Our study suggests that corporate sociopolitical activism is in part a strategic decision shaped by the firm’s assessment of reputational benefit and risk.