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Firms ‘named and shamed’ by activists likely to be large and have good reputations

Firms targeted by labor activists are more likely to be ‘shamed’ if they are large, have prominent, well-known brand images and have good social reputations among consumers.

Researchers from The Ohio State University used evidence from the 1990s sweat-shop campaigns. They found most firms out of 151 US-based textiles companies could be criticised for using sweat-shops, but only the largest firms and those with strong reputations were outwardly shamed. Activism against companies in the 1990s did lead to lower sales and hurt corporate stock prices.

Furthermore, researchers suggested similar strategies are now being used against large electronics companies.

Read more at The Ohio State University

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