Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Linking Social Issues to Organizational Impact: The Role of Infomediaries and the Infomediary Process

  • Published:
Journal of Business Ethics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

When do organizations decide to ‘adopt’ a given social issue such that they come to acknowledge it in their patterns of action and communication? Traditional answers to this question have focused either on the characteristics of the issue itself, or on the traits of the focal organization. In many cases, however, a firm’s decision to adopt or ignore an issue is not a straightforward function of firm or issue characteristics. Instead, we view issue adoption as a socially constructed process of information exchange between parties that are involved in the emergence and evolution of the issue, mediated by third-party organizations. We refer to this process as the infomediary process and these latter organizations as ‘infomediaries,’ after the information mediation and brokerage roles they play in the social processes linking social issues to organizational impact. We present a concise theoretical model of how infomediaries establish credible linkages between focal organizations and social issues. The thrust of the model is that the infomediation process, rather than the issue or firm characteristics, is what really drives firm-level issue adoption decisions.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Agle, B.R., Mitchell, R.K., & Sonnenfeld, J.A. (1999). Who matters to CEOs? An investigation of stakeholder attributes and salience, corporate performance, and CEO values. Academy of Management Journal, 42(5), 507–525. doi:10.2307/256973

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bigelow, B., Fahey, L., & Mahon, J.F.1991. Political strategy and issues evolution: A framework for analysis and action. In K. Paul (Ed.), Contemporary Issues in Business Ethics and Politics: 1–26. Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bollen, K.A. 1989. Structural equations with latent variables. New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boyle, T.P. (2001). Intermedia Agenda Setting in the 1996 Presidential Election. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 78(1), 26–44.

    Google Scholar 

  • Breen, M.J. (1997). A Cook, A Cardinal, His Priests, and the Press: Deviance as a Trigger for Intermedia Agenda Setting. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 74, 348–356.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carter, S.M., & Deephouse, D.L. (1999). ‘Tough talk’ and ‘soothing speech:’ A comparison of reputations for being tough and being good. Corporate Reputation Review, 2, 308–332. doi:10.1057/palgrave.crr.1540089

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chase, W.H. 1984. Issue management: Origins of the future. Stamford, CT: Issue Action Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen, C.C., & Meindl, J.R. (1991). The construction of leadership imaged in the popular press: The case of Donald Burr and People Express. Administrative Science Quarterly, 36, 521–551. doi:10.2307/2393273

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clarkson, M.B.E. (1995). A stakeholder framework for analyzing and evaluating corporate social performance. Academy of Management Review, 20, 92–117. doi:10.2307/258888

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cyert, R.M., & March, J.G.1963. A behavioral theory of the firm. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dalton, R.J., Beck, P.A., & Huckfeldt, R. (1998). Partisan cues and the media: Information flows in the 1992 Presidential election. The American Political Science Review, 92(1), 111–126. doi:10.2307/2585932

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Danielian, L.H., & Page, B.I. (1994). The heavenly chorus: Interest group voices on TV news. American Journal of Political Science, 38(4), 1056–1078. doi:10.2307/2111732

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davis, J. H., F. D. Schoorman and L. Donaldson: 1997, ‘Toward a Stewardship Theory of Management’. Academy of Management Review 22(1), 20–47. doi:10.2307/259223

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Deephouse, D. (2000). Media reputation as a strategic resource: An integration of mass communication and resource based theories. Journal of Management, 26, 1091–1112. doi:10.1177/014920630002600602

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DiMaggio, P.J., & Powell, W.W. (1983). The iron cage revisited: Institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields. American Sociological Review, 48, 147–160. doi:10.2307/2095101

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Donaldson, T., & Preston, L.E. (1995). The stakeholder theory of the corporation: Concepts, evidence, and implications. Academy of Management Review, 20(1), 65–91. doi:10.2307/258887

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Downs, A. 1972. The issue-attention cycle and the political economy of improving our environment. In J. S. Bain, & W. F. Ilchman (Eds.), The political economy of environmental control: 9–34. Berkeley: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dutton, J.E., Ashford, S.J., O’Neill, R.M., & Lawrence, K.A. (2001). Moves that matter: Issue selling and organizational change. Academy of Management Journal, 44(4), 716–736. doi:10.2307/3069412

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eisenhardt, K.M. (1989). Building theories from case study research. Academy of Management Review, 14(4), 532–550. doi:10.2307/258557

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elsbach, K.D. (1994). Managing organizational legitimacy in the California cattle industry: The construction and effectiveness of verbal accounts. Administrative Science Quarterly, 39, 57–88. doi:10.2307/2393494

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Emerson, R.M. (1962). Power-dependence relations. American Sociological Review, 27, 31–40. doi:10.2307/2089716

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Epstein, E.M. 1969. The Corporation in American Politics. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Etzioni, A. 1975. A Comparative Analysis of Complex Organizations: On Power, Involvement, and Their Correlates (2nd ed.). New York: The Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fombrun, C.J. 1996. Reputation: Realizing Value from the Corporate Image. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business School Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fombrun, C., & Shanley, M. (1990). What’s in a name? Reputation building and corporate strategy. Academy of Management Journal, 33(2), 233–258. doi:10.2307/256324

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fombrun, C.J., & van Riel, C.B.M.2003. Fame & Fortune: How Successful Companies Build Winning Reputations. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall/Financial Times.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freeman, R.E. 1984. Strategic Management: A Stakeholder Approach. Boston: Pitman.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frooman, J. (1999). Stakeholder influence strategies. Academy of Management Review, 24(2), 191–205. doi:10.2307/259074

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Galtung, J., & Holboe Ruge, M. (1965). The structure of foreign news. Journal of Peace Research, 2, 64–91. doi:10.1177/002234336500200104

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gans, H.J. 1980. Deciding What’s News: A Study of CBS Evening News, NBC Nightly News, Newsweek and Time. New York: Vintage Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ghoshal, S., & Moran, P. (1996). Bad for practice: A critique of the transaction cost theory. Academy of Management Review, 21(1), 13–47. doi:10.2307/258627

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haynes, A.A., & Rhine, S.L. (1998). Attack politics in presidential nomination campaigns: An examination of the frequency and determinants of intermediated negative messages against opponents. Political Research Quarterly, 51(3), 691–721.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hilgartner, S., & Bosk, C.L. (1988). The rise and fall of social problems: A public arenas model. American Journal of Sociology, 94, 53–78. doi:10.1086/228951

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hirsch, P.M. 1977. Occupational, organizational and institutional models in mass communication. In P. Hirsch, P. V. Miller, & F. G. Kline (Eds.), Strategies for Communication Research: 13–42. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoffman, A.J., & Ocasio, W. (2001). Not all events are attended equally: Toward a middle-range theory of industry attention to external events. Organization Science, 12(4), 414–434. doi:10.1287/orsc.12.4.414.10639

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jones, T.M. (1991). Ethical decision making by individuals in organizations: An issue-contingent model. Academy of Management Review, 16(2), 366–395. doi:10.2307/258867

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jones, T.M., Felps, W., & Bigley, G.A. (2007). Ethical theory and stakeholder-related decisions: The role of stakeholder culture. Academy of Management Review, 32(1), 137–155.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lamertz, K., Martens, M.L., & Heugens, P.P.M.A.R. (2003). Issue evolution: A symbolic interactionist perspective. Corporate Reputation Review, 6(1), 82–93. doi:10.1057/palgrave.crr.1540192

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mahon, J. F., P. P. M. A. R. Heugens and K. Lamertz: 2004, ‘Social Networks and Nonmarket Strategy’, Journal of Public Affairs 4(1) (forthcoming)

  • McCombs, M., & Shaw, D. (1972). The agenda-setting function of the mass media. Public Opinion Quarterly, 36, 176–187. doi:10.1086/267990

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McQuail, D. (1985). Sociology of mass communication. Annual Review of Sociology, 11, 93–111. doi:10.1146/annurev.so.11.080185.000521

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell, R.K., Agle, B.R., & Wood, D.J. (1997). Toward a theory of stakeholder identification and salience: Defining the principle of who and what really counts. Academy of Management Review, 22(4), 853–886. doi:10.2307/259247

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Molotch, H. and M. Lester: 1974, ‘News as Purposive Behavior: On the Strategic Use of Routine Events, Accidents, and Scandals’, American Sociological Review 39(February), 101–112. doi:10.2307/2094279

  • Molotch, H., & Lester, M. (1975). Accidental news: The great oil spill as local occurrence and national event. American Journal of Sociology, 81(2), 235–260. doi:10.1086/226073

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mutz, D.C. (1994). Contextualizing personal experience: The role of the mass media. The Journal of Politics, 56(3), 689–714. doi:10.2307/2132188

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Page, B. I.: 1996, ‘The Mass Media as Political Actors’, Political Science & Politics 29(March), 20–24

  • Perrow, C. 1986. Complex organizations: A critical essay (3rd ed.). London: Random House.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pfeffer, J. 1981. Management as symbolic action: The creation and maintenance of organizational paradigms. In L. L. Cummings, & B. M. Staw (Eds.), Research in Organizational Behavior, Vol. 3: 1–52. Greenwich, CT: JAI.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pfeffer, J., & Salancik, G.1978. The External Control of Organizations: A Resource Dependence Perspective. New York: Harper and Row.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pollock, T.G., & Rindova, V.P. (2003). Media legitimation effects in the market for initial public offerings. Academy of Management Journal, 46(5), 631–642.

    Google Scholar 

  • Powell, W. W.: 1998, ‘Learning from collaboration: knowledge and networds in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries’, California Management Review 40(3), 228–240.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rindova, V.P., & Fombrun, C.J. (1999). Constructing competitive advantage: The role of firm-constituent interactions. Strategic Management Journal, 20, 691–710.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rogers, E.M., Dearing, J.W., & Bregman, D. (1993). The anatomy of agenda setting research. The Journal of Communication, 43, 68–84. doi:10.1111/j.1460-2466.1993.tb01263.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rowley, T.J. (1997). Moving beyond dyadic ties: A network theory of stakeholder influences. Academy of Management Review, 22(4), 887–910. doi:10.2307/259248

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rowley, T.J., & Moldoveanu, M. (2003). When will stakeholder groups act? An interest- and identity-based model of stakeholder group mobilization. Academy of Management Review, 28(2), 204–219.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schattschneider, E.E. 1960. The Semi-Sovereign People. New York: Holt, Rhinehart and Winston.

    Google Scholar 

  • Scott, W.R. 1987. Organizations: Rational, natural, and open systems (2nd ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shoemaker, P.J., & Reese, S.D.1996. Mediating the message: Theories of influences on mass media content (2d ed.). White Plains, NY: Longman.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sigal, L.V. (1978). Newsmen and campaigners: Organization men make the news. Political Science Quarterly, 93(3), 465–470. doi:10.2307/2149535

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sigelman, L. (1973). Reporting the news: An organizational analysis. American Journal of Sociology, 79(1), 132–151. doi:10.1086/225511

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spector, M., & Kitsuse, J.I.1987. Constructing Social Problems. New York: Aldine de Gruyter.

    Google Scholar 

  • Suchman, M.C. (1995). Managing legitimacy: Strategic and institutional approaches. Academy of Management Review, 20, 571–610. doi:10.2307/258788

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thompson, J.D. 1967. Organizations in action: Social science bases of administrative theory. New York: McGraw-Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tuchman, G. (1974). Making news by doing work: Routinizing the unexpected. American Journal of Sociology, 79(1), 110–131. doi:10.1086/225510

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tuchman, G. 1978. Making news: A study in the construction of reality. New York: Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wartick, S.L., & Heugens, P.P.M.A.R. (2003). Guest editorial: Future directions for issues management. Corporate Reputation Review, 6(1), 7–18. doi:10.1057/palgrave.crr.1540186

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wartick, S.L., & Mahon, J.F. (1994). Toward a substantive definition of the corporate issue construct: A review and synthesis of the literature. Business & Society, 33(3), 293–311. doi:10.1177/000765039403300304

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weber, M. 1947. The theory of social and economic organization. New York: Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weick, K.E. 1979. The Social Psychology of Organizing (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Woolley, J.T. (2000). Using media-based data in studies of politics. American Journal of Political Science, 44(1), 156–173. doi:10.2307/2669301

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Business, University of Alberta, Alberta, Canada

    David L. Deephouse

  2. Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University, P.O. Box 1738, 3000 DR, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

    Pursey P. M. A. R. Heugens

Authors
  1. David L. Deephouse
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Pursey P. M. A. R. Heugens
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Pursey P. M. A. R. Heugens.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Deephouse, D.L., Heugens, P.P.M.A.R. Linking Social Issues to Organizational Impact: The Role of Infomediaries and the Infomediary Process. J Bus Ethics 86, 541–553 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-008-9864-3

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-008-9864-3

Keywords

Search

Navigation