AMTP Proceedings 2026

Document Type

Conference Proceeding

Publication Date

2026

Abstract

Corporate cancel culture is often dismissed as “just social media noise,” but for managers the real stakes show up in markets. This paper develops and tests a three-level framework linking moralized social-media discourse, online brand reputation, and firm-level financial outcomes. Using three canonical cancellations—Dolce & Gabbana’s China controversy, Tesla’s politicization via Elon Musk, and Bud Light’s backlash after its transgender influencer partnership—we first show that these events are organized around spikes in moral-emotional language and structural virality, not generic negativity. We then document how this moral outrage predicts shifts in brand sentiment, associations, and engagement across platforms, before examining corresponding abnormal stock returns and changes in risk. Integrating the three studies, we demonstrate a coherent empirical chain from moral policing in networks to brand reputation damage to firm value, and outline practical metrics and monitoring strategies for managers.

DOI

10.20429/amtp.2026.87

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