With Stakeholder activism on the rise, ‘pre-emptive strike’ research and precision strategy are critical
When a shareholder turns activist, corporate Boards go into overdrive trying to fend off potential actions. And when it comes to Reputation, Boards and CEOs get their PR machinery into overdrive. But shareholders no longer act alone. For embedded within the activist shareholder’s demands is the idea that corporate reputations are always susceptible to reputation (and potential financial) damage and consequent impacts whether in the capital markets, or among policy makers or communities. Any shareholder action draws in diverse sets of other stakeholders, whether customers, communities or even NGOs. Sometimes the action draws policymakers into focus. Complexity abounds. How effective is a traditional corporate strategy in today’s age of instantaneous social media echo chambers? Is it at all possible for managements to create ‘pre-emptive strikes’ on potential issues that activist shareholders might raise? Or is it simply a matter of getting ‘bots’ to counter-attack in social med...