Hearts, high fives and insults: how consumers respond to brands taking a controversial stand

Purpose Organizations have been increasingly taking stands on social-political issues that are not related to their core business. When those issues are controversial, consumer reactions can be difficult for brand managers to predict. The purpose of this exploratory study is to analyze how actual consumers respond to corporate social advocacy (CSA) on social media. Design/methodology/approach This exploratory study used content analysis to examine more than 13,000 Instagram comments on posts made by Dick’s Sporting Goods and Patagonia taking a stand after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Findings Positive and negative sentiment were identified with financial and ideological-related themes emerging within each. Findings suggest that praise for the brands’ CSA far outweighed negativity, that women dominated positive responses while men dominated negative responses, and that adult cyberbullying takes place frequently. Through the lens of Uses and Gratifications Theory, findings suggest motivations for the responses and highlight distinctions between how positive sentiment is expressed versus negative sentiment. Originality/value By using content analysis to examine actual social media responses to a brand taking a stand on a controversial topic, this exploratory study provides novel insights for brand managers. Findings of this study contrast greatly with studies that have analyzed responses to surveys or experiments. Examining authentic social media comments provided interesting insights, such as differences between identified male and female commenters and in how positive and negative comments were expressed. This study opens doors for deeper examination of the topic and suggests that even when brands take a stand on an extremely controversial topic, positives can outweigh potential backlash.