Online Activism and a Conceptual Typology of Public Relations Activist Roles

Social media has changed the communication landscape, creating an environment ripe for online activism and challenges to organizational legitimacy that have resulted in a (re)defining of public relations roles. In today's online activist era, professionals may serve in distinctive activist roles, of which each has a growing body of literature: Social Movement Activist Role, the employment of traditional and modern public relations strategies and techniques on behalf of social movement organizations; Corporate Boundary Spanner Activist, the professional as internal-external activist on behalf of the organization and its stakeholders in an online activist context; and the corporate social advocacy (CSA) role, the public relations professional as issues manager and values enforcer on behalf of businesses engaging in controversial social-political issues. Online activism case examples are included through the lens of identified roles. The chapter concludes with directions for future activist roles research.