Thematic Analysis of Stockholder Activism: Issues, Legitimacy, and Power in Investor Relations

The purpose of this study was to examine the concept of stockholder activism as an area for development in financial public relations scholarship. The study was conducted applying a thematic analysis of online texts related to a case. In this communication study, business and communication research provided the framework to investigate (1) what themes emerged from the valeantnow.com posts in the context of the Valeant crisis, (2) what themes emerged from the messages activist investors sent to the financial community, and (3) what themes emerged from the news generated during this interaction between Valeant and two activist investors to analyze how stockholder activism shapes the practice of investor relations. Practical implications include strategic knowledge investor relations professionals can use to prevent and/or respond to stockholder activism.