Are you sure you want to go there? : businesses and the implications of political advocacy
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Abstract
This research explores how the media frame when organizations take a stance on a politically charged issue without being prompted or asked to do so. Specifically, through doing a content analysis, this paper will look at the framing that takes place, and the overall tone and attitude that is put out to the public. Articles from The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The New York Times and The Washington Post will be examined in regards to two cases. The first is the Chick-fil-a case of 2014, when CEO Dan Cathy spoke out about gay marriage and marriage equality. The next is the Hobby Lobby Case of 2014, when the organization did not want to be required to provide medical coverage for things connected to women’s preventative care like birth control. The conclusions that come from this reserach will help to guide future research and organizational decisions when it comes to speaking out in this regard. The findings will help organizations to make conclusions so that it will be easier, using theory of planned behavior, to determine if this is something that will change their reputation, and if so, if this will be a positive or negative change.