Protests and Publicity Impact Business Norms

The voices of activists booming from megaphones on the picket line have a significant impact on big-name corporations and investors, according to a recently released study by Prof. Sarah Soule, sociology. In the report, “Social Movements as Extra-institutional Entrepreneurs: The Effect of Protest on Stock Price Returns,” Soule examines how media outlets help both businessmen and their outspoken, sign-wielding opponents.

“What entrepreneurship and social movements have in common is that they’re both trying to change the status quo,” said Brayden King, Assistant Professor of sociology at Brigam Young University, who collaborated on the study with Soule. King said that by nature, both protesters and entrepreneurs are attempting to change the norms of business.