Corporate targeting and responses to online social activism: What is the role of non-human bots?

As firms increasingly interact with social activists on social media, they are also exposed to the influence of AI-driven social bots. In the paper he discussed with us, Prof. Forrest Briscoe from Cornell University investigates the role of bots in online social activist criticism of corporations and how bot involvement might shape corporate responses to criticism.

Existing research provides mixed insights: while bots can accelerate engagement and boost participation, they lack the nuanced framing and emotional depth typical of impactful activist messages. Moreover, corporate social media professionals vary in how they perceive and interpret bot involvement when monitoring their social media landscape.

To analyze this issue, Briscoe uses an established method to classify Twitter/X accounts as bots or humans and then examines bot involvement in originating and amplifying social-issue criticism aimed at large U.S. utility companies over a decade. Specifically, the study assesses how bot involvement affects outcomes such as message visibility, corporate responses, press releases related to the social issue (covering both concessions and reputation management), and organizational adjustments (like new roles in social media and issue management).

Forrest Briscoe is a Professor of Organizational Behavior at Cornell University's ILR School, where he teaches and researches organization theory and strategic management. His work examines how companies adapt to social change, how social movements impact organizations, and how employment practices shape careers and social inequality. His research has been published in journals like Administrative Science Quarterly (ASQ), American Sociological Review, and Strategic Management Journal, and has been featured in media outlets such as the Financial Times, Forbes, and Fast Company. He has served as Associate Editor for ASQ and Academy of Management Annals and chaired the Organization & Management Theory (OMT) Division of the Academy of Management. Before joining Cornell, Prof. Briscoe was a Professor of Management at Penn State’s Smeal College of Business. His industry experience includes consulting at John Snow Inc. in Boston, focusing on health care, automotive, and environmental strategy. He holds a PhD in Management from MIT Sloan, a BA in Environmental Sciences from Harvard, and an IB Diploma from San Diego High School. You can learn more about Professor Forrest S. Briscoe on Cornell University’s Website.