Takin' Care of Small Business: The Rise of Stakeholder Influence

Authors

William P. Jimenez, Old Dominion UniversityFollow
Xiaohong (Violet) Xu, University of Texas at San Antonio
Emily D. Campion, Old Dominion UniversityFollow
Andrew A. Bennett, Old Dominion UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2021

DOI

10.5465/amp.2020.0070

Publication Title

Academy of Management Perspectives

Volume

35

Issue

2

Pages

324-330

Abstract

In this Exchange, we consider three crucial boundary conditions that Barnett, Henriques, and Husted (2020) overlooked in their model of diminished stakeholder influence. Although we agree that social media platforms have weakened stakeholder influence in certain conditions, such is not the case for all firms, all stakeholders, or all situations. Drawing from socio-cognitive and self-determination theories, we contend that (a) independent, owner-managed small firms present a context wherein information overload is rendered less of an issue because the information about the firm is more salient to locals; (b) stakeholders can be motivated to influence firms via social media platforms, which facilitate the collective engagement of local community members; and (c) uncertain economic circumstances (e.g., COVID-19) activate stakeholder information searches, which often occur through social media. Together, these three conditions enhance stakeholder power and influence. We also contemplate how, even under these conditions, stakeholder influence may change over time vis-à-vis the issue–attention cycle and societalization. We conclude our Exchange with a call for more research on stakeholder influence over independent, owner-manager small businesses.

Comments

© 2021 Academy of Management Perspectives. Content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites nor posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission.

Included after a 12 month embargo with compliance to publisher policy.

Publisher's version available at: https://doi.org/10.5465/amp.2020.0070

ORCID

0000-0003-1991-3611 (Bennett) 0000-0002-4087-1623 (Xu)

Original Publication Citation

Jimenez, W. P., Xu, X., Campion, E. D., & Bennett, A. A. (2021). Takin’ care of small business: The rise of stakeholder influence. Academy of Management Perspectives, 35(2), 324-330. https://doi.org/10.5465/amp.2020.0070

Repository Citation

Jimenez, William P.; Xu, Xiaohong (Violet); Campion, Emily D.; and Bennett, Andrew A., "Takin' Care of Small Business: The Rise of Stakeholder Influence" (2021). Management Faculty Publications. 40.
https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/management_fac_pubs/40